Prevalence of myopia among 12- to 13-year-old schoolchildren in northern Mexico

• Published in: Optometry and vision science Vol. 80; no. 5; pp. 369 - 373
• Main Authors: VILLARREAL, Gerardo M, OHLSSON, Josefin, CAVAZOS, Humberto, ABRAHAMSSON, Maths, MOHAMED, Jesus H
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hagerstown, MD Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 01.05.2003
• Subjects: Adolescent; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Eyeglasses - statistics & numerical data; Female; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Mexico - epidemiology; Myopia - epidemiology; Myopia - therapy; Ophthalmology; Prevalence; Refraction, Ocular; Schools; Tropical medicine; Vision disorders; Visual Acuity; Central America; Mexico; America; Human; Prevalence; Vision disorder; Myopia; Epidemiology; Eye disease; School age; Refractive error; Adolescent; adolescence; Mexico; eyeglasses; Child; Public health
• ISSN: 1040-5488; 1538-9235
• DOI: 10.1097/00006324-200305000-00011

The aim of this article was to report the prevalence of refractive errors, mainly myopia, among 12- to 13-year-old children in a metropolitan setting in Mexico. A total of 1035 schoolchildren were examined in a field study in Monterrey, Mexico. The examination included best-corrected visual acuity and refraction during cycloplegia. A sample of the children was sent to a pediatric eye clinic and underwent cycloplegic refraction with an autorefractor. We found a prevalence of myopia (>/=-0.5 D SE) of 44%, whereas bilateral myopia was present in 37% of the children. In the total sample, high myopia (>/=-5D) was found in 1.4%. The prevalence of myopia was significantly higher in girls. Only 20% of children with bilateral myopia used prescription glasses; 8% had prescribed glasses, but did not use them. Hyperopia (>/=+1 D) was present in 6.0% of the total population, and astigmatism (>/=-1.5 D) was present in 9.5%. The prevalence of myopia among 12- to 13-year-old children in Mexico is high. The majority of cases are low grade, and a large number of the myopic children do not have, or do not use, prescription glasses.