Research
Prevalence of refractive errors among schoolchildren in Shiraz, Iran
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of refractive errors in Shiraz schoolchildren by age and gender.
The prevalence of uncorrected, best-corrected, presenting and spectacle corrected visual acuity of 6/12 or worse in the better eye was 6.46%, 0%, 1.49% and 0.9%, respectively.
The prevalence rates of myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism were 4.35% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.89–5.82%), 5.04% (95% CI: 3.50–6.58%), and 11.27% (95% CI: 9.81–12.74%), respectively.
The study concluded that, compared with other reported rates, the prevalence of myopia in the schoolchildren of Shiraz was similar to that in most places excluding East Asian countries, and that of hyperopia was in the mid range.