Follow-up Study of Refractive Errors in School Children.

Lee, Jae Ok; Kim, Jae Ho

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 1980;21(4):517-523.
Published online April 1, 1980.

Follow-up Study of Refractive Errors in School Children.

Jae Ok Lee, Jae Ho Kim

Department of Opthalmology, Catholic Medical CoIlege, Seoul, Korea.

서울시내학동의 굴절이상에 대한 추적조사

김재호(Jae Ho Kim),이재옥(Jae Ok Lee)

Abstract

The refractive state of 261 children (136 boys and 122 girls) of a primary school of Seoul City between the age of 8, 12 were examined under the cycloplegic condition with Mydrin-P(Tropicamide) for 2 years. To evaluate the effect of poor illumination we selected the children who will spend one year of their school life in the relatively poorly illuminated classrooms and follow-up study was done after one year interval. The results were as follows: 1. The incidence of refractive errors was 59.7% in 1978 and then increased up to 63.5% in 1979. 2. As to the distribution of refractive errors, in 1978 the incidene of hyperopic eyes was the grea test as 19.5%; and in 1979 the incidence of myopic eyes was the greatest as 20.5%. 3. Theare was a tendency of gradual increase in the incidence of myopic refractive errors as the age increased both in 1978 and 1979 and gradual decrease in the incidence of hyperopic refractive error as the age increased both in 1978 and 1979. 4. The majority of refractive power was in between +0.37 and +3.0D in 1978 as 53.5%; and between -0.37 and -3.0D in 1979 as 55.0%. 5. Among changes in refractive state which was discovered by follow-up study for the same children on the following year, the incidence of change to the direction of myopic refractive state was greatest in all age group. The overall incidence of the direction of myopic refractive state was greatest as 48.9% than 27.6% of unchanged refractive state.