Prevalence of refractive errors in children of Puerto Rico

AIM:To determine the prevalence of refractive error in 5-to 17-year-old schoolchildren in Puerto Rico.METHODS:A quantitative descriptive study of 2867 children aged 5 to 17y from all seven educational regions of Puerto Rico was conducted from 2016–2019.Refractive error was determined via static and subjective refraction.Children with distance acuity≤20/40 or near visual acuity≤20/32 had a cycloplegic refraction.Data analysis included descriptive statistics,correlation coefficient,Kruskal-Wallis,Chi-square,and t test calculations.RESULTS:Twenty percent of the children had a spherical equivalent refractive error≤-0.50 D,3.2%had a spherical equivalent≥+2.00 D,and 10.4%had astigmatism≥1 D.There was a statistically(but non-clinically)significant myopic change in spherical equivalent refractive error with age(P<0.001).The prevalence of myopia increased with age(P<0.001)but not hyperopia(P=0.59)or astigmatism(P=0.51).Males had a significantly higher hyperopic spherical equivalent than females(P<0.001).Females had a higher prevalence of myopia(P<0.001)than males,but there was no difference in the hyperopia(P=0.74)or astigmatism prevalence(P=0.87).CONCLUSION:The prevalence of a spherical equivalent equal to or less than-0.50 D(myopia,20.7%)is one of the highest among similar-aged children worldwide.Further studies should explore the rate of myopia progression in children in Puerto Rico.Individual children must be monitored to examine the need for treatment of myopia progression.