Prevalence of visual impairment and refractive errors in an urban area of Mexico

AIM: To determine the distribution of refractive errors in a school-age population in Quintana Roo (Mexico) in the framework of an international cooperation campaign for the prevention of blindness. METHODS: A sample of 2647 school-age children (ranging from 5 to 14 years old) with a mean age of 9.1±1.9 years old were tested by trained volunteers for distance visual acuity (VA) and refractive errors. The first screening examination included uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) and VA with a +2.00 D lens. Inclusion criteria for a second complete cycloplegic eye examination performed by an optometrist were UDVA <20/25 (0.10 logMAR or 0.8 decimal) and/or VA with +2.00 D ≥20/25. RESULTS: A…