Ghazala Usman, Amber Tahir Siddiqui, Javeria Khan, Kainat Sheikh, Syed Awais, Mehwish Hussain.
Frequency of Myopia and Correlated Environmental Factors among Medical Students of Karachi.
Ann Jinnah Sindh Med Uni Jan ;2(1):13-7.

•Objective: The aim of the study was to find out the frequency of myopia and correlated factors among the medical students of Karachi. Methods: Data were collected from 545 medical students from 3 medical colleges of Karachi, Pakistan. Self-administered questionnaire was distributed among participants. Questionnaire comprised of three sections such as demographic characteristics, myopia frequency and risk factors of the disease. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and predisposing factors were assessed by logistic regression model. Results: Myopia was reported by 81.5% of the students. Among them 71.4% developed myopia after commencing their medical school. About 6% were recommended by ophthalmologists to drop the MBBS program. Altogether, 74.2% students endured bothersome eye symptoms. Eye strain followed by squinting was the most common symptoms. For 31.2% students these symptoms were significantly aggravated during semesters (P < 0.0001). Myopic students were significantly older than non-myopic (P = 0.005).Increased age resulted in 1.16 times higher chances of developing myopia in our study. Holding other associated factors, the risk of aggravation of bothersome eye symptoms using electronic was 4.22 times higher among myopic students. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated myopia to be a significantly alarming issue predisposing among the medical students. The prevalence of myopia after commencement during medical years may raise concern towards different stakeholders. Age, year of study, use of electronics and tough study hours during semesters were the predictors which deteriorate the condition. Key words: Myopia, Correlation, Environmental factors , Medical students.

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