Prevalence of Myopia among Children Attending Pediatrics Ophthalmology Clinic at Ohud Hospital, Medina, Saudi Arabia

Prevalence of Myopia and Its Associated Risk Factors Among Children Attending a Tertiary Hospital in Saudi Arabia

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This study serves as a tool for optometrists and ophthalmologists to reinforce adherence to several preventive factors, which may decrease the incidence of myopia, and avoidance of risk factors by multiple means including education during hospital visits. It also provides insight into who should be screened and tailored screening programs for children.

BACKGROUND

While studies assessing the prevalence of myopia in Saudi Arabia have contradicting results, only a few studies have evaluated the risk factors of myopia and the effect of using electronic devices on its occurrence. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of myopia and associated risk factors, among children attending an ophthalmology clinic in King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

 A cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 182 patients aged < 14 years were selected using convenient sampling. Direct assessment of the refraction was performed in the clinic, and a questionnaire was completed by the child's parent.

RESULTS

Of 182 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 40.7% had myopia. Myopia was more common in boys (56.8%) than in girls (43.2%), with a median age of 8.7 years. Using multivariate regression analysis, only age (eight years and above) (OR=2.15, CI=1.12-4.12, P= 0.03), and family history of myopia (OR= 5.83, CI= 2.82-12.05, P= 0.001) were significant predictors of myopia in children. Other variables (e.g., sex, and use of laptops, computers, smartphones/tablets, or TV) were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study did not show a statistically significant association between using electronic devices and the onset and progression of myopia among children. Studies with a larger sample size are required to further investigate this association and assess other potential risk factors.

Uncorrected Refractive Errors Among Children Attending Pediatric Ophthalmology Clinic at Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Refractive errors are globally one of the most prevalent ocular disorders among pediatrics. This study aimed to determine the pattern of uncorrected refractive errors among children attending pediatric ophthalmology clinics at Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort clinic-based study including the records of children attending the pediatric ophthalmology clinic at Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia, between July 2021 and July 2022 who were diagnosed with refractive errors, ages between 4 and 14 years.

RESULTS

A total of 114 patients were included in the study while 26 patients with other ocular disorders were excluded from the study. The mean age of children included in the study was 9.1 ± 2.9. The most prevalent refractive errors were hyperopic astigmatism (64%), followed by myopic astigmatism (28.1%), then myopia (5.3%), and hyperopia (2.6%). The overall uncorrected refractive error of this study was estimated to be 36%. No significant association was found between the factors of age and gender on the type of refractive errors (P-value > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The most prevalent pattern of uncorrected refractive errors among children attending pediatric ophthalmology clinics at Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia was hyperopic astigmatism followed by myopic astigmatism. No differences were found between different age groups and between genders on the type of refractive errors. Implementation of adequate vision screening programs for school-aged children is essential to detect uncorrected refractive errors at an early age.

Refractive status of patients attending eye clinics of the Public Health System from Aguascalientes, Mexico

PURPOSE

This paper aims to evaluate the prevalence of REs in a clinic from Aguascalientes, Mexico by analysing clinical records from the local public health system. Refractive errors (REs) are quite common globally, but no data have been published regarding their frequency in clinics from Mexico. A priori, the frequency of ametropias should be high as admixture ancestry from this region is mainly European and Amerindian, the regions with high prevalence worldwide.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2195 subjects from records of public optometry services during the year 2018. Information obtained included age, gender, sphere, cylinder and axis. The prevalence of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism was determined by gender and age groups in paediatric and adult patients. Chi-square testing was applied to determine significant differences in prevalence across age groups and gender. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS

In subjects under 18 years of age, the prevalence of emmetropia, astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia was 20.1%, 51.1%, 7.0% and 11.8%, respectively. In adults, emmetropia was present at a frequency of 20.1%, while 57.1% presented astigmatism, 12.4% hyperopia and 8.6% presented myopia. A significant association was observed between the presence of REs and age and gender.

CONCLUSIONS

In this first report of prevalence of REs from western Mexico, astigmatism was the most prevalent RE in children, adolescents and adults while the least common was myopia. Important differences were found in prevalence in comparison to national and international reports.