An assessment of Xeropthalmia problem among school going children in Urban Slums of Raipur

Introduction:Present study was carried out in school children (6-15 years age) from slum areas of Raipur city near its Urban Health Centre to see the Magnitude of Xerophthalmia. Very few studies have been done to clinically assess the extent of Ocular manifestations of Vitamin A deciency in primary school children Method:Study was designed as a cross sectional study conducted in primary schools of urban slums of Raipur city near its Urban Health Centre . 1000 children were randomly selected from 10 schools and examined . From each school 100 children were randomly selected from standard I-VII. Xerophthalmia was diagnosed if there was a history of night blindness, or on examination, there were signs of conjunctival xerosis, Bitot's spots, corneal xerosis or keratomalacia. Information was analysed by using the Microsoft Excel and SPSS . Chi square test was used for analysis.Results:0.5%casesofnightblindness,1.4%casesofconjunctivalxerosisand2.1%casesofBitot'sspotwerefound.Typesoffamily,lowersocialclass(classIV&V)andpoorintakesofgreenvegetablesweresignicantlyassociatedwiththevitaminAdeciency.Conclusion:Study showed that this preventable cause of ocular morbidity is still prevalent in fair magnitude. Studies are needed on this issue to highlight the importance.