Refractive Error in School Children in an Urban and Rural Setting in Cambodia

• Published in: Ophthalmic epidemiology 2012-02, Vol.19 (1), p.16-22
• Main Authors: Gao, Zoe, Meng, Ngy, Muecke, James, Chan, Weng Onn, Piseth, Horm, Kong, Aimee, Jnguyenphamhh, Theresa, Dehghan, Yalda, Selva, Dinesh, Casson, Robert, Ang, Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Cambodia - epidemiology; Child; Children; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Services Accessibility; Humans; Male; Myopia; Prevalence; Refractive error; Refractive Errors - diagnosis; Refractive Errors - epidemiology; Refractive Errors - therapy; Rural; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Schools; Sex Distribution; Urban; Urban Population - statistics & numerical data; Vision Tests; Visual Acuity; Visually Impaired Persons - statistics & numerical data
• ISSN: 0928-6586; 1744-5086
• DOI: 10.3109/09286586.2011.632703

Purpose: To assess the prevalence of refractive error in schoolchildren aged 12-14 years in urban and rural settings in Cambodia's Phnom Penh and Kandal provinces. Methods: Ten schools from Phnom Penh Province and 26 schools from Kandal Province were randomly selected and surveyed in October 2010. Children were examined by teams of Australian and Cambodian optometrists, ophthalmic nurses and ophthalmologists who performed visual acuity (VA) testing and cycloplegic refraction. Results: A total of 5527 children were included in the study. The prevalence of uncorrected, presenting and best-corrected VA ≤ 6/12 in the better eye were 2.48% (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.02-2.83%), 1.90% (95% CI 1.52-2.24%) and 0.36% (95% CI 0.20-0.52%), respectively; 43 children presented with glasses whilst a total of 315 glasses were dispensed. The total prevalence of refractive error was 6.57% (95% CI 5.91-7.22%), but there was a significant difference between urban (13.7%, 95% CI 12.2-15.2%) and rural (2.5%, 95% CI 2.03-3.07%) schools (P