Elite School of Optometry, Unit of Medical Research Foundation Chennai, India.
Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2023 Jun;30(3):268-275. doi: 10.1080/09286586.2022.2090006. Epub 2022 Jun 26.
To provide the prevalence of vision impairment and blindness among 250,000 school children aged 6 to 17 years, screened in Tamil Nadu, India.
The study was conducted between 2016 and 2019 as a part of the school eye screening program in Kanchipuram district, Tamil Nadu. The clinical examination included basic vision testing, objective refraction, subjective acceptance, spectacle dispensing, and a posterior segment evaluation. The prevalence of vision impairment, blindness, low vision, and the association with other demographic variables using logistic regression were calculated.
A total of 250,052 children were screened in 1047 schools and the prevalence of vision impairment, blindness, and low vision in Kanchipuram district was 3.83%, 0.01%, 0.19%, respectively. The major causes for vision impairment, blindness, and low vision were refractive errors (3.05%), high myopia (0.002%), and refractive amblyopia (0.04%), respectively. Vision impairment was significantly associated with urban location (OR = 1.42, 95% CI 1.36-1.48, p < .0001), females (OR = 1.11, 95%CI - 1.08-1.15, p < .0001), private schools (OR = 2.43, 95%CI - 2.35-2.42, p < .0001), higher secondary class grade (OR = 1.69, 95%CI - 1.61-1.77, p = .001), high-school class grade (OR = 1.65, 95%CI - 1.58-1.72, p = .001) and middle school class grade (OR = 1.53, 95%CI - 1.47-1.59, p = .001).
This large-scale school eye screening reports a comparatively lower prevalence of vision impairment, blindness, and low vision when compared to other studies conducted around the world. Although the overall prevalence is relatively low, the causes are mostly refractive. Urban, female, private school-going children aged 11-17 are at higher risk.
在印度泰米尔纳德邦的坎奇普兰地区，对 250,000 名 6 至 17 岁的在校儿童进行筛查，以了解他们的视力障碍和失明患病率。
本研究于 2016 年至 2019 年进行，作为坎奇普兰地区学校眼筛查计划的一部分。临床检查包括基本视力测试、客观验光、主观接受、配镜和后段评估。使用逻辑回归计算视力障碍、失明、低视力的患病率，并与其他人口统计学变量进行关联分析。
在 1047 所学校中，共对 250,052 名儿童进行了筛查，坎奇普兰地区的视力障碍、失明和低视力患病率分别为 3.83%、0.01%和 0.19%。视力障碍、失明和低视力的主要原因分别为屈光不正（3.05%）、高度近视（0.002%）和屈光性弱视（0.04%）。视力障碍与城市所在地（OR=1.42，95%CI 1.36-1.48，p<.0001）、女性（OR=1.11，95%CI 1.08-1.15，p<.0001）、私立学校（OR=2.43，95%CI 2.35-2.42，p<.0001）、高中二年级（OR=1.69，95%CI 1.61-1.77，p=.001）、高中三年级（OR=1.65，95%CI 1.58-1.72，p=.001）和初中三年级（OR=1.53，95%CI 1.47-1.59，p=.001）显著相关。
这项大规模的学校眼筛查报告显示，与全球其他研究相比，印度泰米尔纳德邦的视力障碍、失明和低视力患病率相对较低。尽管总体患病率相对较低，但主要原因是屈光不正。城市、女性、11-17 岁的私立学校学生患视力障碍、失明和低视力的风险更高。
