Epidemiological patterns of ocular morbidity among under five years of age children in Khartoum State- Sudan 2020

Abstract

Background: Development of the visual system begins prenatally and continues after birth. However, owing to how personal and subjective a person’s sight is, children may not realize they have a vision problem. Visual impairment in early childhood can significantly impair development of visual, motor, and cognitive function and lead to adverse psychosocial consequences. This research aimed to study the epidemiological patterns of ocular morbidity in children aged less than five years old.Methods: The study is a retrospective patient record study carried out in three tertiary eye care hospitals in Khartoum State- Sudan. All children records for the year 2019 were reviewed, and the total number included was 10886 patients’ files. The records were reviewed estimate the number of under five years of age children and the patterns of ocular morbidity. The data were summarized and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. The proportions were estimated, patterns of ocular morbidity were identified according to age groups and gender.Results: The proportion of under five years children was 5% of the total population and 45% of the total children below 16 years. The predominant age group affected with ocular morbidity is (3–5 years old with 53%). Eye infections affected (19%), allergic eye diseases (16.8%), orbital diseases (12.4%), refractive errors (10.8%), squint (9.3%), corneal diseases (6.6%), cataract (6%), glaucoma (2.3%), neurogenic eye (2%) and tumors (0.23%).There are some variations in morbidity according to age groups among the under five years of age children.Conclusions: The proportion of under five years children is high. The predominant ocular morbidity affecting children below five years of age is eye infections, followed by allergic eye diseases and refractive errors while other serious and blinding eye diseases mounted a considerable percentage. Although of small percentage but worth mentioning that malignant eye tumors were one of the patterns of ocular morbidities affecting children of under five years of age. Patterns of ocular morbidity showed some gender variations.