The Epidemiology of Ophthalmological Disease among School Age Children in Rural India

Authors

  • Clive Velkers Student, University of Ottawa, Canada
  • MacKenzie Turpin Student, University of Ottawa, Canada
  • Raywat Deonandan Professor, University of Ottawa, Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18192/riss-ijhs.v4i1.1220

Keywords:

Epidemiology, Ophthalmology, Blindness, Children, International health, India

Abstract

Preventable blindness is one of the primary health concerns in rural India, yet little is known about the prevalence of eye disease among India's school-aged children. The clinical database of the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology, which describes clinicians' visits to schools in Kakinada, India, was analyzed retrospectively to determine the prevalence of eye disease among 8488 students aged 18 years and younger. Among diagnosed illnesses, basic refractory impingement (including degrees of astigmatism) was the most common, followed by squinting. Vitamin A deficiency was not a factor in any of the tested subjects.

References

Dandona, R., & Dandona, L. (2001). Review of findings of the Andhra Pradesh eye disease study: Policy implications for eye-care services. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 49 (4), 215-234.

Grönlund, M. A., Landgren, M., Strömland, K., Aring, E., Svensson, L., Tuvemo, T., & Hellstrom, A. (2010). Relationships between ophthalmological and neuropaediatric findings in children adopted from Eastern Europe. Acta Ophthalmologica, 88(2), 227-234. doi: 10.1111/j.1755-3768.2008.01430.x

Gwiazda, J., Grice, K., Held, R., McLellan, J., & Thorn, F. (2000). Astigmatism and the development of myopia in children. Vision Research, 40(8), 1019-1026. doi: 10.1016/S0042-6989(99)00237-0

Kvarnström, G., Jakobsson, P., & Lennerstrand, G. (2001). Visual screening of Swedish children: An ophthalmological evaluation. Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica, 79(3), 240-244. doi: 10.1034/j.1600-0420.2001.790306.x

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. (2011). State files: Andhra Pradesh. Retrieved February 18, 2011, from http://censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_sc_andhra.pdf

Singh, A. J., Garner, P., & Floyd, K. (2000). Cost effectiveness of public-funded options for cataract surgery in Mysore, India. Lancet, 355(9199), 180-184. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(99)07430-9

Uzma, N., Kumar, B. S., Khaja Mohinuddin Salar, B. M., Zafar, M. A., & Reddy, V. D. (2009). A comparative clinical survey of the prevalence of refractive errors and eye diseases in urban and rural school children. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, 44(3), 328-333. doi: 10.3129/i09-030
IJHS Volume 4 Issue 1

Downloads

Published

2014-08-17

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2014)

Section

Articles

License

  • All authors published in the IJHS will retain copyright of their article. 
  • Authors grant the IJHS the right of first publication of their submitted articles. 
  • All articles published in the IJHS are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share articles if original authors and journal of initial publication are acknowledged. 
  • The IJHS is published online and in print, therefore the journal is not responsible for any unauthorized misuse of published content in either electronic or print form
  • The IJHS retains the serial distribution rights to all contents
  • It is the responsibility of the authors and not the IJHS to ensure proper permissions for all cited work have been obtained