The Prevalence of Asthenopia and its Determinants Among Schoolchildren
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017-02-28
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Brieflands
Abstract
Objectives: The current study aimed at determining asthenopia prevalence and its associated factors in a population of high school students. Methods: In the current cross sectional study, samples were selected from high school students (range, 12 to 18 years) in Kermanshah city, Iran, through stratified cluster sampling. Any person with at least 1 symptom was considered to have asthenopia. Results: Of the 1070 selected samples, 1040 participated, and examinations were completed for 901 students. The prevalence of asthenopia was 49.4% (45.7 to 53.2). The prevalence of asthenopia was 62.8% (51.9 to 73.8) and 47.7% (43.8 to 51.7) in males and females, respectively (P = 0.013). Asthenopia prevalence increased from 21.4% in 12-year-old to 63.9% in 18-year-old cases (P < 0.001). The most common symptom in the study was tearing (20.03%) and eye pain (19.88%) during near-work and reading. Conclusions: The prevalence of asthenopia in this student population was high. Since asthenopia can interfere with near-work, its treatment merits high importance in school-age children.