Background

To assess the prevalence of myopia and its risk factors in rural school children.

Methods

Children in classes 4–7 of eight randomly selected schools (five government and three private) in rural Haryana, with unaided vision <6/9.5 were screened, their cycloplegic refraction is done, myopes were identified. A questionnaire-based assessment of risk factors was done for myopes and compared with 10% of randomly selected children with normal vision (controls). The prevalence of myopia and its association with risk factors were assessed.

Results

Children screened were 1486 (89.5% coverage). The mean age of children was 11.2 ± 1.5 years with 861 (57.9%) boys. Prevalence of myopia was 6.4% (95% Confidence intervals [CI]: 5.2%, 7.8%). Prevalence was higher among private schools (10.1%) compared to government schools (1.4%) (p < 0.001), and among girls 7.2% (45/625) compared to boys 5.8% (50/861) (p = 0.2786). The mean spherical equivalent refractive error was −1.61D ± 1.32D. The prevalence of high myopia was 1.1% (1/95). There was a 75% unmet need for spectacles. Studying in private school was positively associated with myopia as per our multivariate analysis (p = 0.016). An inverse association was found for time spent outdoors (p = 0.009). Watching television, indoor time, screen time, age, or gender were not found to be statistically significant as risk factors.

Conclusion

The prevalence of myopia is increasing among children of rural areas, especially those in private schools with a strong inverse association with time spent outdoors. Regular screening, lifestyle modification and awareness about modifiable risk factors are essential.

中文翻译：

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印度北部农村学童的近视患病率及其危险因素：印度北部近视农村研究（NIM-R 研究）

背景

评估农村学童近视患病率及其危险因素。

方法

对哈里亚纳邦农村地区随机选择的八所学校（五所公立学校和三所私立学校）中 4-7 年级裸眼视力 <6/9.5 的儿童进行了筛查，对他们进行了散瞳验光，并确定了近视。对近视的危险因素进行了问卷调查，并与随机选择的 10% 视力正常的儿童（对照）进行了比较。评估了近视患病率及其与危险因素的关联。

结果

接受筛查的儿童有 1486 名（覆盖率 89.5%）。儿童的平均年龄为 11.2 ± 1.5 岁，其中男孩 861 名 (57.9%)。近视患病率为 6.4%（95% 置信区间 [CI]：5.2%、7.8%）。私立学校的患病率 (10.1%) 高于公立学校 (1.4%) ( p  < 0.001)，女生的患病率为 7.2% (45/625)，而男生的患病率为 5.8% (50/861) ( p  = 0.2786)。平均球面等效屈光不正为-1.61D ± 1.32D。高度近视患病率为1.1%（1/95）。75% 的眼镜需求未得到满足。根据我们的多变量分析，在私立学校学习与近视呈正相关（p  = 0.016）。户外活动时间与户外时间呈负相关 ( p  = 0.009)。未发现看电视、室内时间、屏幕时间、年龄或性别作为危险因素具有统计显着性。

结论

农村地区儿童的近视患病率正在上升，尤其是私立学校的儿童，这与户外活动时间呈强烈负相关。定期筛查、改变生活方式以及了解可改变的风险因素至关重要。