Open AccessAssociation between Socioeconomic Status and Vision Screening Outcomes among Preschool Children in Klang Valley, Malaysia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Author(s) -
Humairah Kamaruddin,
Naufal Nordin,
Nurlin Erlina Abdul Manap,
Sumithira Narayanasamy,
Sharanjeet Sharanjeet-Kaur,
Mohd Izzuddin Hairol
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the malaysian journal of medical sciences/the malaysian journal of medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.394
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2180-4303
pISSN - 1394-195X
DOI - 10.21315/mjms2022.29.2.10
Subject(s) - socioeconomic status , medicine , cross sectional study , visual acuity , refractive error , optometry , logistic regression , stereoscopic acuity , confounding , ethnic group , demography , pediatrics , ophthalmology , environmental health , population , pathology , sociology , anthropology
Background: Vision screening programmes’ outcomes are routinely used to report the prevalence of vision anomalies in children. However, the association between vision screening outcomes and the children’s socioeconomic status remains underexplored. This cross-sectional study determined the association between socioeconomic and birth status with vision screening outcomes in a sample of children in Klang Valley. Methods: Total 411 children (mean age: 5.49 ± 0.47 years old) attending preschools were selected via stratified cluster sampling. Habitual distance visual acuity, near visual acuity, and stereoacuity were measured. The fail criteria were distance visual acuity ≥ 0.3 logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution (logMAR), near visual acuity ≥ 0.4 logMAR or stereoacuity ≥ 300 arcsec. Socioeconomic and birth history data were obtained using parent-report questionnaires. The association between socioeconomic factors and screening outcomes were determined with binary logistic regression. Results: Sixty-two children (15.1%) failed the screening, with a significantly higher failure rate for Bumiputera children (16.34%) compared to non-Bumiputera children (4.08%) (χ2 (1, 410) = 5.21; P = 0.024). After adjusting for confounders, Bumiputera children were four times more likely to fail vision screening (OR: 4.54; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 1.07, 17.76; P = 0.044). Other socioeconomic factors were not significant predictors for failing vision screening. Conclusion: Preschool children’s ethnicity is associated with vision screening outcomes. Bumiputera children are more likely to fail vision screening than their non-Bumiputera peers.