Vision is the most important human sense for every student,
especially for students in tertiary institutions where academic
performance involves a lot of reading and research. It is generally
claimed that visual input accounts for 75% of information
acquisition. As such, the existence of any ocular condition
that causes poor vision or inhibits the comfortable use of the
eyes could have negative impact on the student’s academic
performance. It is therefore important that students admitted
into universities to pursue various programs have optimal
comfortable vision.
Ocular morbidity refers to a condition in a study subject, recognized
or suspected, ocular or vision abnormality, which require
treatment or surveillance. Studies have shown that
ocular morbidities are a major public health problem in developing
countries like Ghana, where about 90% of the world’s
visually impaired people live.
Visual problems have been known to lead to 4-8% slower performance on occupational tasks.
Students suffer varieties
of symptoms of these visual problems, which are frequently
associated with near work (reading and writing) whereby eye
accommodative and vergence processes are more intense.
These asthenopia symptoms such as burning such as burning
sensations, eye strain, tearing and photophobia can be severe
enough to limit personal activities and further result in the
development of age related eye disease. A study by Rafindhadi
et al revealed that most subjects who suffered ocular
morbidity were students, and the least were farmers.
A common ocular condition affecting students is refractive
error. For example, higher education has been found to correlate
with long hours of near work (reading and writing), and
this environmental factor has been found to contribute to the
development of myopia.
Thus, if myopic students admitted
into the university are uncorrected, the exposure to long hours
of near work may progress the refractive error (as shown by
a 5-year longitudinal study in one university and cause more
vision problems. Other studies have also reported on ocular
problems affecting students such as refractive error allergic
conjunctivitis, which has been found to be a leading cause
of absenteeism from school and computer vision syndrome. With the advent of technology, students are glued to
computer screens for the majority of their academic work and
entertainment. This excessive use of computer comes with
it visual and ergonomic problems. Headache, burning sensation
in eyes and dry/tires/sore eyes were the most common
visual related problems associated with usage of computers
in one study. The discomfort associated with computer
usage has not yet been proven to result in permanent ocular
damage, but may cause a reduction in work accuracy and this
can reduce productivity by as much as 40%. Cataract,
refractive errors, glaucoma, diabetes and injuries have been
shown to be causes of blindness in middle age but more importantly
in age group 20 to 40 years, and this happens to be
the age group for most undergraduates.
Unfortunately, information on the distribution of ocular conditions
among students in tertiary education is very limited,
particularly for developing countries. However, the few studies
on selected ocular conditions among university students
have recorded significant problems. It is important that
these and other non-blinding morbidities are detected at the
earliest to reduce the possible complications. The good news
is, many ocular problems that are amenable to interventional
measures are detected through vision screening of selected
populations.
The purpose of this study was to outline
the pattern of ocular conditions among students who have
been admitted into first year programs in the Kwame NkThe research was designed as a cross-sectional, randomized
study of all first year KNUST students for the 2014/2015 academic
year residing in the halls of residence. Simple random
sampling was used to randomly select three out of the six
halls of residence and then three floors in each of the sampled
halls for the study. On each sampled floor, systematic random
sampling was used to select the rooms, starting from the first
room, for the study. Each student in a sampled room who satisfied
the inclusion criteria was eligible to partake in the study.
The total number of students sampled was determined to be
167, using Epi Info version 7.1.4.0, an expected prevalence of
19.6% and a confidence level of 90%.An informed consent was obtained from each student sampled.
For each student who consented to the study, a detailed
clinical history was taken. The clinical history covered presenting
complains, past ocular history and general medical history
as well as family ocular history and family medical history.
After
the clinical history, visual acuity was recorded, with and
without prescription if any, using a 6-metre Snellen chart. For
visual acuities less than 6/9, the pinhole test was performed
from the same distance. If the visual acuity improved with
pinhole, non-cycloplegic refraction was performed. External
examination was performed with a pentorch, followed by
anterior and posterior segment examination as well as fundus
examination using a direct ophthalmoscope. All findings
obtained were recorded on examination forms designed for
this study and diagnoses made accordingly. Subjects who required
further examination and management were referred
to the University Hospital Eye Clinic for further examination
and care.
For purposes of this study, refractive error was defined as uncorrected
visual acuity of less than 6/9 which improved with
pinhole. Refractive error of -0.50DS or more was diagnosed as
myopia, +1.50DS or more as hyperopia and 0.75DC or more as
astigmatism.Completed examination forms were cross-checked in the field
for completeness of data. Data was analyzed using STATA for
Windows, version 16.0. Frequency and distribution tables
were constructed, as well as graphs drawn using Microsoft
Excel (Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010) as descriptive
statistics. Continuous variables were expressed as mean ±
standard deviation (M ± SD). Chi-square test was employed
to find significant differences between comparable categorical
groups. Statistical significance was set at p values less than
0.05 (p < 0.05).
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