Ocular Morbidity Pattern and Presentation among Residence of a Semi-Urban Community in Rivers State, Nigeria

Background: Ocular diseases vary in different parts of the world and are influenced by racial, geographic, socioeconomic and cultural factors. The common ocular diseases worldwide are cataract, glaucoma, conjunctivitis, corneal ulcers, uveitis, refractive errors, pterygium.

Methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional descriptive study carried out in Rumuokwuta community in Rivers state. Socio-demographic and clinical presentation information was obtained from an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Distant visual acuity was assessed at 6 m with the Snellen’s chart while near vision assessment was at 33 cm with a Sussex vision R near vision chart. External eye examination was with pen touch while fundoscopy was with direct Ophthalmoscope. Data were analyzed with the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v20. Using descriptive statistics, categorical variables were presented in the form of frequencies and percentages (%) and summary statistics in means and standard deviations (SD). Using inferential statistics, the Chi-Square (X2) test of significance was used to associate categorical variables and a p-value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results: A total of 114 subjects were examined.The mean age was 41.41± 15.49 years. The male to female ratio was 2:3. About 70.5% and 76.2% respectively in Right Eye and Left Eye had normal vision better than 6/18, while 27.1% and 21.9% respectively in Right Eye and Left Eye had a low vision (VA between 6/18 and 6/60). About 2.6% in either eye were blind. The three most common ocular conditions were Glaucoma (13.95%), Refractive error (13.02%) and Presbyopia (12.56%).

Conclusion: The commonest cause of Ocular morbidity in this study are glaucoma, refractive error and presbyopia. The age distribution of a study area was a significantly associated factor in the frequency of visual impairment and blindness.