Purpose:To evaluate the characteristics of astigmatism in a cross-sectional study of schoolchildren in Tunisia.Materials and Methods:A random cluster design was used to recruit children from primary schools across urban and rural settings in Tunisia, from 2008 to 2010. A total of 6192 students aged 6–14-years old were enrolled. All students whose uncorrected visual acuity was worse than 20/20 underwent a complete ophthalmic examination. Astigmatism was defined as the cylinder power of 0.75 diopter (D) or greater.Results:The prevalence of astigmatism was 6.67%. Mean cylinder power was - 1.89 ± 0.79D. The prevalence of astigmatism increased statistically significantly with age (P = 0.032). The prevalence of astigmatism was not significantly related to gender (P = 0.051). Of those with cylinder, 63.6%, 17.8%, and 18.6% schoolchildren had with with-the-rule, against-the-rule, and oblique astigmatism, respectively. ATR astigmatism was significantly higher in males (P = 0.033). There was no significant association between the student's area of residence and astigmatism (P = 0.059).Conclusion:Comparisons with other studies show that the prevalence of astigmatism in Tunisia is higher than in some countries. The prevalence of astigmatism increased with age but not gender. The majority of schoolchildren had with-the-rule astigmatism.
In highly myopic eyes, the choroid is thin and undergoes further attenuation with age and increasing myopia. In addition, these findings suggest that the choroid may play a role in the pathogenesis of CNV.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.