Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study
Background & objectives: Most of the ocular morbidities among school children are preventable or treatable. Melghat, a difficult to access, hilly, forest, tribal area with poorly developed infrastructure in the Amravati district of Maharashtra. Scarcity of ophthalmologists and low health-seeking...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
2023-01-01
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| Series: | Indian Journal of Medical Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2023;volume=158;issue=4;spage=370;epage=377;aulast=Satav |
| _version_ | 1797351967454920704 |
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| author | Kavita A Satav Ashish R Satav Vibhawari S Dani Parikshit M Gogate Shraddha D Kumbhare Pradeep Reddy |
| author_facet | Kavita A Satav Ashish R Satav Vibhawari S Dani Parikshit M Gogate Shraddha D Kumbhare Pradeep Reddy |
| author_sort | Kavita A Satav |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background & objectives: Most of the ocular morbidities among school children are preventable or treatable. Melghat, a difficult to access, hilly, forest, tribal area with poorly developed infrastructure in the Amravati district of Maharashtra. Scarcity of ophthalmologists and low health-seeking behaviour of tribal people contributes to the high burden of ocular morbidity. Given the lack of published studies on the ocular morbidity among children in Melghat, outreach programmes are essential to diagnose and treat visual impairments promptly. The objective was to determine the prevalence of ocular morbidity among children in the tribal area of Melghat.
Methods: A community-based observational study was carried out in the Chikhaldara and Dharni blocks of Melghat. Children from 15 tribal villages were screened for eye disorders by trained paramedics. Most of the children were examined by an ophthalmologist. We used Chi-square test for categorical variables.
Results: A total of 4357 children aged between 6 and 18 yr were examined. Of these 2336 (53.6%) were females and 2021 (46.4%) were males. Out of 4357 children, 507 (11.63%) had an ocular morbidity. The prevalence of ocular morbidity and refractive error increased in the age group of 8-10 yr (P<0.05 and <0.001, respectively). Refractive error was the most common ocular morbidity (n=339; 7.8%), followed by vitamin A deficiency (VAD) (n=120; 2.8%).
Interpretation & conclusions: The prevalence of refractive error and VAD in this study was significantly higher than the rest of India and the world. For the prevention of childhood blindness, immediate intervention programme, including eye screening by trained paramedics, treatment by an ophthalmologist and prophylaxis, is crucial. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:08:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6f7e7ad1d4f341f699ea7452acede9c7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0971-5916 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:08:20Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Indian Journal of Medical Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-6f7e7ad1d4f341f699ea7452acede9c72024-01-18T15:52:46ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsIndian Journal of Medical Research0971-59162023-01-01158437037710.4103/ijmr.ijmr_3228_21Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based studyKavita A SatavAshish R SatavVibhawari S DaniParikshit M GogateShraddha D KumbharePradeep ReddyBackground & objectives: Most of the ocular morbidities among school children are preventable or treatable. Melghat, a difficult to access, hilly, forest, tribal area with poorly developed infrastructure in the Amravati district of Maharashtra. Scarcity of ophthalmologists and low health-seeking behaviour of tribal people contributes to the high burden of ocular morbidity. Given the lack of published studies on the ocular morbidity among children in Melghat, outreach programmes are essential to diagnose and treat visual impairments promptly. The objective was to determine the prevalence of ocular morbidity among children in the tribal area of Melghat. Methods: A community-based observational study was carried out in the Chikhaldara and Dharni blocks of Melghat. Children from 15 tribal villages were screened for eye disorders by trained paramedics. Most of the children were examined by an ophthalmologist. We used Chi-square test for categorical variables. Results: A total of 4357 children aged between 6 and 18 yr were examined. Of these 2336 (53.6%) were females and 2021 (46.4%) were males. Out of 4357 children, 507 (11.63%) had an ocular morbidity. The prevalence of ocular morbidity and refractive error increased in the age group of 8-10 yr (P<0.05 and <0.001, respectively). Refractive error was the most common ocular morbidity (n=339; 7.8%), followed by vitamin A deficiency (VAD) (n=120; 2.8%). Interpretation & conclusions: The prevalence of refractive error and VAD in this study was significantly higher than the rest of India and the world. For the prevention of childhood blindness, immediate intervention programme, including eye screening by trained paramedics, treatment by an ophthalmologist and prophylaxis, is crucial.http://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2023;volume=158;issue=4;spage=370;epage=377;aulast=Satavmelghat - ocular morbidity - refractive error - tribal - vitamin a deficiency |
| spellingShingle | Kavita A Satav Ashish R Satav Vibhawari S Dani Parikshit M Gogate Shraddha D Kumbhare Pradeep Reddy Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study Indian Journal of Medical Research melghat - ocular morbidity - refractive error - tribal - vitamin a deficiency |
| title | Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study |
| title_full | Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study |
| title_fullStr | Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study |
| title_short | Ocular morbidity among children (aged 6-18 yr) of the tribal area of Melghat, India: A community-based study |
| title_sort | ocular morbidity among children aged 6 18 yr of the tribal area of melghat india a community based study |
| topic | melghat - ocular morbidity - refractive error - tribal - vitamin a deficiency |
| url | http://www.ijmr.org.in/article.asp?issn=0971-5916;year=2023;volume=158;issue=4;spage=370;epage=377;aulast=Satav |
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