Prevalence of refractive errors among medical and applied medical sciences students, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Refractive errors are the most common ocular problems affecting all age groups. They are considered a public health challenge. Recent studies indicated that refractive errors are the leading cause of visual impairment and the second cause of visual loss worldwide, as 43% of visual impairments were attributed to refractive errors. The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of refractive errors among students of the College of Medicine and Applied Medical Sciences College, University of Bisha, Saudi Arabia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was used. A total of 212 participants, comprising 106 (50%) males and 106 (50%) females, were involved in the study. The age range of the participants was between 18 and 25 years, with a mean age of 20.6 ± 1.8 years. Data were collected using a predesigned online electronic questionnaire. The result of the study showed that 127 (59.9%) of the respondents consulted an ophthalmologist with 60 of them within the last 1 year, 20 between 2 and 3 years and the remaining 47 more than 3 years. Short sightedness had the highest prevalence with 38 (17.9%) reported cases of RE, followed by short sightedness with astigmatism 28 (13.2%), and astigmatism without other defects 24 (11.3%) while 12 (5.7%) participants reported long sightedness. Social media was the most reported source of information (55.1%; 27) followed by friends (28.6%; 14), and ophthalmologist (16.3%; 8). The present study revealed that the prevalence of refractive errors among students in the University of Bisha was high, especially myopia and astigmatism. There was no significant difference regarding gender, age, or course of study in the prevalence of RE among the students of the University of Bisha.