Prevalence of myopia among 12- to 13-year-old schoolchildren in northern Mexico.

PURPOSE: The aim of this article was to report the prevalence of refractive errors, mainly myopia, among 12- to 13-year-old children in a metropolitan setting in Mexico. METHODS: A total of 1035 schoolchildren were examined in a field study in Monterrey, Mexico. The examination included best-corrected visual acuity and refraction during cycloplegia. A sample of the children was sent to a pediatric eye clinic and underwent cycloplegic refraction with an autorefractor. RESULTS: We found a prevalence of myopia (>/=-0.5 D SE) of 44%, whereas bilateral myopia was present in 37% of the children. In the total sample, high myopia (>/=-5D) was found in 1.4%. The prevalence of myopia was significantly higher in girls. Only 20% of children with bilateral myopia used prescription glasses; 8% had prescribed glasses, but did not use them. Hyperopia (>/=+1 D) was present in 6.0% of the total population, and astigmatism (>/=-1.5 D) was present in 9.5%. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of myopia among 12- to 13-year-old children in Mexico is high. The majority of cases are low grade, and a large number of the myopic children do not have, or do not use, prescription glasses.

Visual acuity, amblyopia, and ocular pathology in 12- to 13-year-old children in Northern Mexico.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to establish visual acuity (VA) and the prevalence of amblyopia and other ocular disorders in a population of 12- to 13-year-old children in Mexico who have not been vision screened. METHODS: A total of 1,035 12- to 13-year-old children were examined in a field study. The examination included VA, stereopsis, cover testing, refractive retinoscopy, and examination of the red reflex and posterior pole. In cases with unexplained subnormal VA, visually evoked potential/visually evoked response was also performed. RESULTS: A >or=20/20 in at least one eye was found in 93% of the subjects. Bilateral VA