Prevalence of Visual DisordersAmong Urban Palestinian Preschool Children ( Optometry)

Supervisor:

Dr.Ithar Beshtawi

Dr.Liana Labadi

Dr.Yousef Shanti

Dr. Mohammad Shehadeh

Abstract :

Background : Childhood blindness is a major public health concern since 40% of visual disorders that can cause blindness among children are preventable. Visual disorders that can affect the normal vision development early in childhood include refractive error, anisometropia, strabismus, color vision deficiency and ocular pathology, all of which may lead to the development of amblyopia, one of the most common causes of unilateral vision loss. Vision screening programs among pre-school children have been implemented in several countries as a tool for early detection and intervention of visual disorders. In Palestine, there is a lack of scientific data on the prevalence of visual disorders among children. In addition, vision-screening programs that are currently implemented are neither validated nor effective. 

Objective : A cross-sectional study is conducted to determine the prevalence of visual disorders among urban Palestinian preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 years in Nablus city.

Methods : All children attending eight randomly selected preschools underwent a validated vision screening administered by trained eye care professionals. The screening protocol included assessment of visual acuity, ocular alignment, depth perception, color vision, non-cycloplegicretinoscopy, and ocular health. A pass-fail criterion was utilized to refer all children who failed the vision screening for comprehensive eye examination including cycloplegicretinoscopy and dilated fundus exam. 

Results :A total number of 764 children underwent the vision screening. Out of the 290 children who failed the vision screening, 127 children responded to the referral call for comprehensive eye examinations. Refractive error was the most prevalent visual disorder with a prevalence of (29.02%), followed by amblyopia (4.10%), color vision deficiency (1.24%), strabismus (1.24%), and ocular health abnormalities (0.70%). There was no age (p=0.35) and/or sex (p=0.32) variation in children having refractive errors. Anisometropia was the first leading cause for amblyopia (p=0.001), followed by significant refractive error and strabismus (p=0.002), (p=0.002)respectively.

Conclusion :Refractive error was the most prevalent visual disorder affecting Palestinian preschoolers in Nablus. Both anisometropia and significant refractive errors were found to be the major causes of amblyopia among this population. Effective nation-wide preschool vision screening programs must be required and implemented in Palestine to screen for amblyogenic risk factors.