The prevalence of refractive error among Malay school children aged 13 to 16 years old in Kota Bahru, Kelantan

• Main Author: Azhany, Yaakub
• Format: Monograph
• Language: English
• Published: Pusat Pengajian Sains Perubatan 2012
• Subjects: R Medicine (General)
• Online Access: http://eprints.usm.my/55373/1/DR.%20AZHANY%20Y%20AAKUB%20-%20e.pdf; http://eprints.usm.my/55373/
• Institution: Universiti Sains Malaysia

A cross sectional study was conducted among Malay school children, age raoging from 13 to 16 year old. Seven out of 36 secondary schools in Kola Bharu District were randomly selected. Written consent was obtained from parent prior to examination. Visual assessment includes visual acuity, ocular motility, external eye examination and direct funduscopy were conducted at the selected !Schools. Noncyclopegic automated refraction using Retioomax Nikon was performed to those students who had visual 'acuity of 20/40 or less. Direct questionnaires regarding student's background and near work activity such as time spend for reading and writing , and also watching television were also obtained from the students. A total of 929 Malay students aged 13 to 16 years old were recruited. The prevalence of visual impairment was 15.3% ,J and:refractive error was the major cause (93.6%). Myopia (-0.50D or less) was found in 97.9% of students with • ·• • I ~ • • • refractive error and gave the prevalence of 14.1 %. No hyperopia noted in this study. The uncorrected refractive error was 59.4%. Fifty one students were unaware of their visual problems. Based on multivariate study analysis, there was significant association of refractive error with female gender (p = 0.01), positive family history of refractive error among sibl\ng (p < 0.01) and parental ipcome (p=0.038). Although the prevalence of myopia (14.1 %) among Malay teenagers aged 13 to 16 years old in Kota Bharu District almost similar to other reported' studies but higher number of them was uncorrected (59 .4% ). Visual screening and health education should be emphasized to overcome this problem.