Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34113078›Full record

ArticleClinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.)2021

Refractive Error and Visual Impairment Among School Children: Result of a South-Eastern Nigerian Regional Survey.

Ferdinand C Maduka-Okafor, Obiekwe Okoye, Ifeoma Ezegwui, Ngozi C Oguego, Onochie I Okoye, Nnenma Udeh, Ada E Aghaji, Emmanuel Nwobi, Chiamaka Aneji, Ernest Onwasigwe and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 25 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Urban-Rural and School-Type Disparities in the Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia in South India.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ferdinand C Maduka-OkaforDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Obiekwe OkoyeDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Ifeoma EzegwuiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Ngozi C OguegoDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Onochie I OkoyeDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Nnenma UdehDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Ada E AghajiDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Emmanuel NwobiDepartment of Community, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.ORCID 0000-0002-1569-8347
Chiamaka AnejiDivision of Neonatal Perinatal Medicine, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX, USA.
Ernest OnwasigweDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
Rich E UmehDepartment of Ophthalmology, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Ituku, Enugu, Nigeria.
University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital · NGThe University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston · USUniversity of Nigeria · NG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo determine the prevalence refractive errors and causes of visual impairment in school children in the south-eastern region of Nigeria.

methodsSchool-based cross-sectional samples of children 5 to 15 of age in both urban and rural areas were profiled through cluster sampling. The main outcome measures were presenting, uncorrected, and best-corrected visual acuity using the Refractive Error in School-age Children (RESC) protocol.

resultsA total of 5723 children were examined during the study period comprising 2686 (46.9%) males and 3037 (53.1%) females; (M:F ratio 0.9:1) and aged 10.49±2.74SD of mean (range, 5 to 15 years). The age group 12 to <13 accounted for the highest 776 (13.6%) number of the study participants. The uncorrected visual acuity (VA) of <20/40 (6/12) was seen in 188 (3.4%) of the study participants while the presenting and best-corrected visual acuity of <20/40 (6/12) were noted in 182 (3.4%) children and 14 (0.2%) children, respectively. Refractive error was the principal cause of visual impairment.

conclusionPrevalence of refractive error is low. Myopia is the principal cause of refractive error occurring more in females and in urban schools. The main cause of visual impairment is refractive error, and most children that need spectacle correction did not have them. Program to identify children with refractive error in addition to providing free or affordable optical services remains the key to preventing visual impairment from refractive error particularly in resource-poor settings.

Indexed as

Nigeriaprevalencerefractive errorschool childrenvisual impairment

Identifiers

PMID34113078
PMCPMC8187082
OpenAlexW3167992247

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.