title: The screening of visual impairment among preschool children in an urban population in Malaysia; the Kuching pediatric eye study: a cross sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To screen for visual impairment in Malaysian preschool children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Visual screening was conducted in 400 preschool children aged 4 to 6 years. The screening involved two basic procedures; the distant visual acuity test using the Sheridan Gardiner chart and the depth perception test using the Langs stereoacuity test. Criteria for referral were a visual acuity of 6/12 or less in the better eye or a fail in the depth perception test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of visual impairment was 5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.3, 7.6). Of the 400 preschool children screened, 20 of them failed the distant visual acuity test or the stereopsis test. Refractive errors were the most common cause of visual impairment (95%, 95% CI = 76.2, 98.8); myopic astigmatism was the commonest type of refractive error (63.2%, 95% CI = 40.8, 80.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study is a small but important step in the effort to understand the problem of visual impairment among our preschool children. Our study showed that it is feasible to measure distant visual acuity and stereopsis in this age group.
authors.forename: Mallika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Premsenthil
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manju
authors.forename: Asokumaran
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Thanaraj
authors.forename: Syed Alwi Syed Abdul
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Tan Aik
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Kah
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015351:Vision Screening / Q000379:methods*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology