Ocular Disorders among Preschool Children in Southwest Nigeria.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and causes of ocular disorders among preschool children. METHODS: A multi-stage random sampling technique was used to select 560 children from a total of 9944 children aged 3-5 years attending nursery schools in the study area. Demographic and other relevant data were collected from the children. They underwent full ophthalmic evaluation including anterior and posterior segment examination as well as cycloplegic autorefraction. RESULTS: Out of the 560 children screened, 170 (30.3%) were 3 years old, 183 (32.7%) were 4 years old, while the remaining 207 (37.0%) were 5 years old. Male-to-female ratio was 1:1.1. Visual acuity was testable using Lea symbol chart in 90% of the children. Ocular disorders were found in 61 eyes of 35 children giving a prevalence of 6.3%. The most common ocular disorder among participants was refractive error (3.9%), followed by allergic conjunctivitis (1.3%). Other identified ocular disorders were strabismus (0.9%), congenital cataract (0.4%), congenital ptosis (0.4%), optic atrophy (0.4%), ectopia lentis (0.2%), and phthisis bulbi (0.2%). There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of ocular disorders by age or gender. CONCLUSION: Screening is useful in early detection and treatment of ocular disorders in preschool children. Uncorrected refractive error which was identified as the major ocular disorder in these children is treatable. Periodic preschool vision screening would reduce the burden of uncorrected refractive error and other ocular disorders which can interfere with the learning skills of young children entering school.

Awareness, perceptions and knowledge of strabismus among patients visiting a tertiary eye clinic in Southwest Nigeria.

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions, knowledge of the causes, implications and treatment of strabismus in a black population. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study utilizing a total sampling technique. Face-to-face interviews were performed using a structured questionnaire. Socio-demographic characteristics, awareness, perceived causes, effect and treatment of squint were investigated. Data was analysed using descriptive and inferential (bivariate and binary regression) analysis. A total of 405 respondents (49.6 % male, 50.4 % female) were interviewed. Ages ranged from 11 ± 90 years (mean 41.26 ± 19.00). Modal age group was 17-44 (56 %). Levels of education showed that 22.0 % had no education, while primary, secondary and tertiary levels were 12.6, 31.6 and 33.8 %, respectively. Approximately 75 % of patients were aware of strabismus. Perceived causes were unknown to 53 % while 18.0 and 12 % mentioned eye disease and congenital-related, respectively. There was no knowledge of treatment in 54 % of patients, while 21 and 25 % knew about medical and surgical treatment, respectively. The effects on social and family life were stigmatization/social misfit (23 %), psychosocial/self pity/depression/inferiority complex (88 %), burden (economic/time) (7 %), and poor cosmesis (5 %). Females were significantly more aware than males (p = 0.043, OR 0.6, CI 0.399-0.986). Age (p = 0.187) and level of education (p = 0.321) had no significant relationship with the levels of awareness. Respondents who had no education were 1.25 times less likely to be aware of squint than those who had education (OR 0.8, CI 0.693-1.642). The awareness of the cause, effects and treatment of strabismus is poor in this population. Females were more aware than males.