Perception and awareness of the public about presbyopia and its corrective approaches in Saudi Arabia: a population-based survey.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated patients' awareness of presbyopia and its management approaches and their preferred methods for near vision correction. METHODS: In Saudi Arabia, 785 participants (aged between 35 and 60 years) completed a structured survey online, consisting of hard copies and direct interviews. The survey consisted of twenty-eight items divided into three parts. It was designed to record participants' awareness of and preferences for presbyopia and its refractive corrections. Nonparametric tests and descriptive analyses were conducted to analyse participants' responses. RESULT: Approximately half of the participants had difficulty with near vision activities, such as reading newspapers or using mobile phones. Among all the participants, 76% were not aware of presbyopia. The prevalence of uncorrected presbyopia was 48% of the 785. The majority (82%) felt that spectacles were acceptable for correction of presbyopia. Most reported that they did not experience social stigma when using reading spectacles (87% of participants). When asked if they were aware of management approaches other than spectacles, 72% responded with not at all. Most participants had no earlier knowledge of the use of multifocal contact lenses or eye drops for presbyopia correction (67% and 82%, respectively). In the present study, some tendencies to use corrective approaches to presbyopia other than spectacles were noted. Finally, participants' age, sex, region, education, and income had a statistically significant impact on essential parts of their responses (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Presbyopia is a highly prevalent age-related ocular disorder, and a significant percentage of cases are uncorrected due to a lack of awareness or reluctance to wear spectacles. More efficient health education about presbyopia and its corrective alternatives is urgently needed.

A Comparative Study of Corneal Topography in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE: To investigate the corneal characteristics in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and age-matched typical development (TD) participants. METHODS: This cross-sectional, clinically based study compared children with ASD to age-matched TD participants. Corneal topography was measured with a portable EyeSys Vista system. The distance visual acuity (VA) and the contrast sensitivity (CS) were determined. The refractive error (RE) was assessed using a 2WIN autorefractometer. RESULTS: A total of 31 children with ASD (mean age: 12.78 ± 4.49 years), and 60 participants with TD (mean age: 13.65 ± 3.56 years) were recruited. The two groups were similar in age (t = -2.084, p = 0.075) and VA (t = -0.35, p = 0.32). Most of the children with ASD had a significant amount of refractive errors (REs; range: +5.25 to -5.50 DS), and astigmatism was dominant (range: -0.25 to -4.50 DC). There was no statistically significant difference between both groups in terms of average corneal power (t = 1.12, p = 0.39). The children with ASD and participants with TD also did not differ significantly in terms of corneal shape descriptors (p > 0.05), such as corneal asphericity, inferior superior index, opposite sector index, and differential sector index. The spherical equivalent did not differ significantly between the ASD participants and participants with TD (t = 1.15, p = 0.15). There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the astigmatism component between the ASD participants and the participants with TD.

The awareness of amblyopia among parents in Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: Amblyopia is the most common cause of unilateral visual impairment. This study investigated parents' awareness of amblyopia in different regions of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional population study. The survey consisted of two main sections; the first section contained 13 general background questions, and the second section (10 questions) focused on awareness of amblyopia, routine vision checks and how to raise awareness of amblyopia in the community. The survey was distributed to respondents using email and social media. RESULTS: The responses of 1649 families were received. Respondents' age range was from 22-62 years (mean ± standard deviation = 33.6 ± 8.7 years). Most respondents had no previous knowledge of amblyopia (1155 participants, 70%), and 313 participants (19%) had no idea if their children had amblyopia. In total, 990 participants (60%) did not visit the eye clinic with their children for a routine eye exam. A total of 495 parents (30%), who were aware of amblyopia, knew of it mainly from eye clinic visits and from Internet websites. A total of 140 respondents reported that their children had amblyopia; 58.3% of those children underwent routine eye examinations once a year, and the rest underwent routine eye examinations twice a year. CONCLUSION: The results clearly showed a lack of amblyopia awareness among the Saudi community. This lack of awareness can lead to visual impairment among children. More efficient efforts are urgently needed from health professionals, education centres, the media and social organizations to promote awareness of amblyopia.

Analysis of basal and reflex human tear osmolarity in normal subjects: assessment of tear osmolarity.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the difference between reflex and basal tear osmolarity among healthy normal subjects. METHOD: The right eyes of 20 healthy normal male subjects aged 20 to 40 years were recruited for this study. The inclusion criteria for the subjects were the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire score of less than 12 and wetting length of the phenol red thread of more than 10 mm. Tear film osmolarity was assessed using TearLab osmometer. Basic tear osmolarity was measured normally without inducing any irritation to the eye. In order to stimulate reflex tear, subjects were asked to open their eye as long as they can till they feel ocular surface irritation (minimum 20 s). RESULTS: The mean score on the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire was 5.5 ± 3. The mean value obtained from the phenol red thread was 21 ± 4.5 mm. There were no statistically significant differences between the osmolarity readings of basal and reflex tear osmolarity (p > 0.05). The mean value was 308 ± 12 and 306 ± 9 mOsm/l for basic and reflex tear osmolarity, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study found that the osmolarity of the basal and reflex tears fell within the same range. The values found in this study are in agreement with published results for normal subjects.

A new measure for the assessment of visual awareness in individuals with tunnel vision.

BACKGROUND: Individuals with a restricted peripheral visual field or tunnel vision (TV) have problems moving about and avoiding obstacles. Some individuals adapt better than others and some use assistive optical aids, so measurement of the visual field is not sufficient to describe their performance. In the present study, we developed a new clinical test called the 'Assessment of Visual Awareness (AVA)', which can be used to measure detection of peripheral targets. METHODS: The participants were 20 patients with TV due to retinitis pigmentosa (PTV) and 50 normally sighted participants with simulated tunnel vision (STV) using goggles. In the AVA test, detection times were measured, when subjects searched for 24 individually presented, one degree targets, randomly positioned in a 60 degrees noise background. Head and eye movements were allowed and the presentation time was unlimited. The test validity was investigated by correlating the detection times with the 'percentage of preferred walking speed' (PPWS) and the 'number of collisions' on an indoor mobility course. RESULTS: In PTV and STV, the detection times had significant negative correlation with the field of view. The detection times had significant positive relations with target location. In the STV, the detection time was significantly negatively correlated with the PPWS and significantly positively correlated with the collisions score on the indoor mobility course. In the PTV, the relationship was not statistically significant. No significant difference in performance of STV was found when repeating the test one to two weeks later. CONCLUSION: The proposed AVA test was sensitive to the field of view and target location. The test is unique in design, quick, simple to deliver and both repeatable and valid. It could be a valuable tool to test different rehabilitation strategies in patients with TV.

Investigating the Visual Status Of Preschool Children in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study was to explore the vision status of preschool children aged 3-6 years in Al Riyadh and to identify children at risk of amblyopia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional population-based study. Visual acuity (VA) was measured using 15-line Lea symbols, refractive error was assessed using the Mohindra near retinoscopy technique, and peak contrast sensitivity (CS) was measured with the aid of the numerical CS test. We recruited 335 children, with their parents' written consent, from 14 kindergartens. RESULTS: A total of 335 children were recruited; 42 children (13%) exhibited reduced VA (Median [interquartile ranges (IQRs)], 0.00 [0.01]); most were emmetropic (87.7%). Myopia (4.2%), hyperopia (8.1%), and astigmatism (20%) were also observed. Most children had normal CSs. About 14% of children were at risk of amblyopia. It has been observed that 26% of families have some kind of refractive error. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to perform vision screening of preschoolers. Early detection of abnormalities in refractive errors could help to minimize the effect of visual impairment.