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Article Type

Original Study

Abstract

Objective The aim of the study was the detection and estimation of refractive errors among school children in Tanta to allow for early correction of diagnosed children. A cross-sectional study was used. Background Refractive error is one of the most common causes of visual impairment and the second leading cause of blindness following cataract. Patients and methods Children aging from 11 to 15 years at different public and private schools in Tanta city were included in the study. Twenty-five classes were randomly selected from 10 schools, eight public and two private, in Tanta and they were included in the study. The field work was carried out between December 2015 to March 2016. A total of 1272 students were examined at the schools: their visual acuity and autorefraction were assessed; moreover, they underwent an external eye examination. Those diagnosed with any refractive errors were referred to Tanta ophthalmology hospital for glasses prescription. Results The prevalence of refraction errors among school children was 68%. The most frequent error was myopia (55.3%) followed by astigmatism (51%), and hypermetropia (11.4%). Myopia was more frequent in boys (56.5%). Hypermetropia was more frequent in girls (13.3%), and astigmatism also was more frequent in girls (54.1%). Amblyopia represented 12% of total children who had errors, and 8% of all children. Anisometropia was found in 1.8% of children with errors. Conclusion Refractive errors affected approximately more than half of the students. Myopia was the more frequent refractive problem. Most of the children were unaware of their refractive errors. The majority of the students were never examined for visual acuity. Most refractive errors can be corrected early in the life. Therefore, every child should receive eye examination by an ophthalmologist at the time of entry into school.

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