title: Trend of soft contact lens prescribing in an optometry centre in India: a 6-year analysis.
abstract: This six-year retrospective longitudinal study was conducted to examine the changes in the pattern of prescribing soft contact lenses in an optometry centre located in a University in South India. Details regarding the type of lenses, lens material, wearing pattern and the clinical diagnoses were analyzed from January 2006 to December 2011. A total of 1273 soft contact lens fits (n=1273) were analyzed. Two-third of the total lenses dispensed was for females and their mean age (24.0±8.3 yrs) was less than that of male (27.0±11.2 yrs) lens users. Nearly 70% of them had myopia and 48% wore conventional soft contact lenses. During the studied six years, the percentage of conventional lenses declined by 60%. This study demonstrated a gradual and significant increase in popularity of disposable contact lenses and silicone hydrogel lens material which is comparable to the global trend.
authors.affiliation: Department of Optometry, Manipal College of Allied Health Sciences, Manipal University, India.
authors.forename: Nijil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sanker
authors.forename: Babu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noushad
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003263:Contact Lenses, Hydrophilic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends*; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D055815:Young Adult