Pattern of ocular morbidities: A cross-sectional study on school-going children in Shillong city

• Main Authors: Amrita Sarkar, Gajendra Kumar Medhi, Himashree Bhattacharyya, Star Pala, Sandhyamoni Gogoi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2019-01-01
• Series: Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
• Subjects: Adolescent health; eye problem; low vision; ophthalmic diseases; school-based screening
• Online Access: http://www.jfmpc.com/article.asp?issn=2249-4863;year=2019;volume=8;issue=6;spage=2124;epage=2128;aulast=Sarkar

Introduction: India is plagued by ocular morbidities in school-children. However, there exists paucity of studies, school health check-ups, and health education in the north-eastern region. This study aimed at estimating the prevalence and pattern of various ocular morbidities in school-going children of Shillong. Methodology: It was a school-based cross-sectional study done in Shillong, Meghalaya among 540 school-going children from class VI to X. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Results: The most common ocular morbidity was refractive error (57.4%) followed by vitamin A deficiency (38.1%), color blindness (3.1%), nevus (3%), manifest squint (2.2%), ptosis (2.2%), conjunctivitis (0.9%), stye (0.4%), etc., There was statistically significant association (P = 0.0192) among the variations of presence of ocular morbidities in the various age groups, among students attending Government or Private schools (P = 0.0430), and socio-economic status (P = 0.012). The prevalence of ocular morbidities was found to have highly significant association with the educational status of both the father (P = 0.0001) and mother (P = 0.001). In addition, the occupational status of the father (P = 0.0472) and the mother (P = 0.0251) were significantly associated with the prevalence too. Conclusion: The prevalence of ocular morbidities was found to be much higher than in other places of the country, which may be because of environmental factors and lifestyle combined with a lack of awareness and timely diagnosis and an absence of robust school health program. A regular screening along with specific health education campaigns can go a long way in decreasing the same.