Prevalence of refractive error among urban and rural middle school children in Tindivanam Taluk, Tamil Nadu – a cross-sectional study

Background: Refractive errors are one of the major public health issues of school children and remain the important causes of preventable visual impairment. When left unnoticed, these vision problems can have a negative effect on a child's learning, social relationships and general wellbeing. Objectives were to find the prevalence of refractive error among urban and rural middle school children. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 456 school-going children aged 11–13 years who were sampled in a selected group of government schools. The approach used in the selection of participants was cluster sampling. Data were gathered with a pretested semi-structured questionnaire on socio-demographic information, ocular history and eye care practices. Visual acuity evaluation was done using the application World Health Organization (WHO) eyes, followed by basic ocular examination. Data was described with descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The prevalence rate of refractive error was 13.8% with the most common type of refractive error being myopia (10.8%), astigmatism (2.2%) and hypermetropia (0.9%). Ocular complaints were reported by 32.7% of the students, and they were mostly blurring of vision (13.8%). Most children had normal unaided visual acuity (86.2%). Refractive errors were significantly linked with ocular complaints, spectacle use, past ocular morbidity, previous eye treatment. Conclusions: Refractive errors particularly myopia are common in school aged children, therefore the need for regular school-based vision screening, early detection and correction is essential in order to prevent long term visual problems.