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STUDY ON THE PREVALENCE AND UNDERLYING FACTORS OF MYOPIA AMONG THE STUDENTS OF A MEDICAL COLLEGE IN KERALA
Background: Few decades earlier, wearing spectacles was a province of adults over 40 years of age. Now we see more children and adolescents with spectacles/contact lenses. Various studies in Asian population show a dramatic increase in refractive error, especially myopia among school and college stu...
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| Format: | Printed Book |
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International Journal of Medical Research & Health Sciences
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| Online Access: | http://10.26.1.76/ks/006264.pdf |
| Summary: | Background: Few decades earlier, wearing spectacles was a province of adults over 40 years of age. Now we see
more children and adolescents with spectacles/contact lenses. Various studies in Asian population show a
dramatic increase in refractive error, especially myopia among school and college students. More advanced levels
of education like medical education that involves extensive near work such as reading and writing have been
repeatedly associated with greater myopia prevalence Objective: To study the prevalence and the underlying
factors of myopia in MBBS students of a Medical college in Kerala. Research methodology: One hundred and
sixty two MBBS students (2009 - 2012 batches) were examined. 40 students were selected from each class by
systematic random sampling technique, their visual acuity was checked using Snellen’s Chart and Diopters were
obtained. Details of factors were obtained using a questionnaire. Results: Prevalence of myopia was observed as
39.5%. First and second year students had a greater percentage of myopia with 40% & 52.5% respectively.
40.6% of myopics had positive family history of myopia (p = 0.003). Duration of TV watching and computer use
showed a significant relation with myopia. (p = 0. 033, 0.009). Reading hours, type of light used, playing or
texting with cell phone and sleeping habits of students were not significant. Conclusion: Prevalence of myopia
was high among medical students (39.5%). Significance of genetic predisposition was well appreciated in our
study. |
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| Physical Description: | 2014 Volume 3 Issue 2 (April - Jun), 2014 |