Resumen

CARBALLO WONG, Ceilan; TRIANA CASADO, Idalia; CARNERO ALVAREZ, Yorian  y  MARTINEZ LEGON, Zoila. Clinical-epidemiological characterization of myopia in children from a Venezuelan municipality. Rev Cubana Pediatr [online]. 2011, vol.83, n.2, pp. 149-157. ISSN 1561-3119.

INTRODUCTION. The active screening of the ophthalmologic affections, the early detection and the appropriate treatment of these defects during childhood prevent future affection of visual health with a high cost in quality of life. The objective of present research was to describe the clinical-epidemiological behavior of myopia in children aged 5-15 from the Rafael Urdaneta municipality of Miranda state, Venezuela during the second trimester of 2008. METHODS. A cross-sectional, descriptive and observational study was conducted. The variables analyzed included age, sex, skin color and clinical-epidemiological features of refractive defect: degree, signs, symptoms, associated ocular diseases, family background of myopia and family and personal pathological backgrounds of systemic and ocular diseases. The universe and sample included patients aged between 5 -15 diagnosed with myopia applying inclusion criteria (sample of 104 patients). The data analysis and processing was by descriptive statistical techniques. RESULTS. There was predominance of myopia among 10 and 15 years old (57,7% in both sexes, although in the female one it was slightly more frequent among the cases (58,7%), as well as among the half-castes (54,8%). The mild myopia was the commonest defect (61,5%) and the visual decrease from a distance and the palpebral cleavage were the more represented sign and symptom (100% and 91.3% of patients, respectively). The 47,1% of myopic persons had the background of family myopia and the bronchial asthma was the more significant systemic background. CONCLUSIONS. The mild myopia was the commonest defect found in study population whose frequency increasing with age and in presence of risk factors.

Palabras clave : Clinical-epidemiological behavior; myopia; children.

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