Refractive errors among engineering students in Norway

Abstract

This study reveals the prevalence of refractive errors in a group of young adults (mean age 20.6 years) exposed to high educational demands, including much reading.

In all, 224 (117 females, 107 males) first-year engineering students were subjectively refracted. A prevalence of myopia of 46.9% (right eye), 49.1% (left eye) and 42.9% (both eyes), and a prevalence of hyperopia of 29.5% (right eye), 28.1% (left eye) and 23.2% (both eyes) was detected. The mean refractive error in the whole group was -0.6 ± 2.2 D (right eye), -0.7 ± 2.4 D (left eye) and -0.7 ± 2.3 D (both eyes).

As many as 56.4% (n=57) of the myopic students had either no corrective lenses (11.9%, n = 12) or had their first corrective lenses prescribed at the age of 16 years or later (44.6%, n=45). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of myopia between female and male students. No significant difference regarding body height was found among men in the different groups of refractive errors, but a significant difference was detected among women. We found no statistically significant relationship between intraocular pressure and any refractive error among men or women.

Key Words:

• students
• prevalence
• refractive errors
• adult-onset myopia
• body height