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Visual impairment and associated risk factors among school‐age children in Kashatagh, Artsakh
Author(s) -
Giloyan Aida,
Harutyunyan Tsovinar,
Petrosyan Varduhi
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2020.0162
Subject(s) - visual impairment , medicine , visual acuity , logistic regression , demographics , descriptive statistics , fundus (uterus) , optometry , eye examination , refractive error , pediatrics , ophthalmology , demography , statistics , mathematics , psychiatry , sociology
Purpose Visual impairment in childhood can have a profound impact on child's development, restricting social life and limiting physical and educational opportunities. This study assessed the prevalence of visual impairment and associated risk factors among school‐age children living in Kashatagh, Artsakh. Methods The researchers recruited 454 school‐age children from seven urban/rural schools in 2016. The structured questionnaire included questions about socio‐demographics, frequency of visiting ophthalmologist, ocular health and vision acuity. All children underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination including measurement of visual acuity, cycloplegic refraction and dilated eye fundus examination. Visual impairment was defined by a presenting visual acuity <6/12 with or without correction in the better eye. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results Children's mean age was 11.1 (3.28), ranging from 6 to 19 years. About 55% participants were girls. The majority of children never visited ophthalmologist (86.1%). The prevalence of presenting visual impairment without correction and with available correction in the better eye were 6.0% and 4.6%, respectively. After best correction, all visually impaired cases improved their vision to ≥6/12. The majority of visually impaired participants had myopia (55.6%). In the adjusted analysis, age (OR = 1.22; 95% CI: 1.04–1.44), female gender (OR = 3.33; 95% CI: 1.07–10.3) and frequency of visiting an ophthalmologist (OR = 11.8; 95% CI: 4.35–32.2) were associated with presenting visual impairment without correction. Visually impaired children more frequently visited an ophthalmologist compared to those with no visual impairment. Conclusions Correctable visual impairment is a major problem in this sample. All visually impaired cases improved their vision to ≥6/12 after best correction in the better eye. School‐based vision screening programs and provision of spectacles can decrease visual impairment in school‐age children.