title: Prevalence of visual disorders in Chinese schoolchildren.
abstract: We performed a vision screening of 1883 Chinese schoolchildren from 4 schools around Kuala Lumpur in June 1990. The group contained 1083-males and 800 females. Visual acuity, refractive error, oculomotor balance, and axial length were measured. The prevalence of myopia in Chinese schoolchildren was found to be 37% in the 6- to 12-year age group and 50% in the 13- to 18-year age group. Approximately 63% of the sample had unaided visual acuity of 6/6 or better and 24% had unaided acuity of 6/12 or worse. Six hundred twenty-five students (33%) failed the vision screening test and were referred for further examinations. The group which failed the vision screening test and had the highest rate of referral (46%) was the 11- to 12-year-old age group. The most common visual disorder was uncorrected myopia, accounting for 38% of the referrals (235 students). Only 26% of the sample were wearing a spectacle correction.
authors.affiliation: Fakulti Sains Kesihatan Bersekutu, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mohidin
authors.forename: P T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Yeow
authors.forename: L L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Leary
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D015351:Vision Screening; D014792:Visual Acuity