PREVALENCE OF REFRACTIVE ERROR IN ILLITERATE POPULATION IN NAVI MUMBAI, MAHARASTRA, INDIA

Objective- Analyzing the prevalence of refractive errors in illiterates (uneducated) population.Design- RETROSPECTIVE: population based cross sectional study.Participants- Illiterate adults between 20 to 50 years of age having obvious refractive error.Material and Methods- A retrospective cross sectional study was carried out in illiterate adults between age group of 20 to 50 in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. Recording visual acuity on Snellen’s E type chart, dilated retinoscopy and fundoscopy was done.Refractive error as myopia / hyperopia was noted as + / - 0.50 spherical / cylindrical.Results- Prevalence of hyperopia was more common than myopia in illiterate population. 2000 eyes of 1000 subjects were examined; majority age group was between25 to 35. Female were having relatively more refractive error 64% compared to male36%. Overall 76% of them were having hyperopia and only 24% were having myopia.Conclusion-Hyperopia is more prevalent in illiterate population and even more commoner in female. Commonest symptom associated was headache in late 20s and early 30s.