title: Refractive errors among students of a postprimary institution in a rural community in south-eastern Nigeria.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence and types of refractive errors seen among students of Girls' Secondary School, Akegbe Ugwu in Nkanu West Local Government area of Enugu State, Nigeria.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire documented the students' personal data, their chief complaints and past ocular history. This was followed by unaided visual acuity assessment then assessment with pinhole, anterior segment examination, fundoscopy, non-cycloplegic objective and subjective refraction in those found to have an unaided visual acuity of less than 6/9 in either eye and improved vision with pinhole.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 355 students aged 12 -21 years was tested. Out of these, 9 (2.53%) had uncorrected vision worse than 6/9 in either or both eyes. Uncorrected refractive error accounted for the reduced vision in 7 cases 5 of which were myopia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a prevalence of refractive error of 1.97 % among students of this rural girls' secondary school in South-Eastern Nigeria. The low prevalence of myopia (1.4%) found agrees with the report that, though the most common refractive cause of visual impairment globally, it is relatively rarer in Africans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Nigeria, Teaching Hospital, Enugu.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chuka-Okosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012423:Rural Health; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires