The Prevalence of Myopia among School Students in Urban Area Bangladesh and to Explore the Associations between Reading and Writing Postures and Myopia

Background: Myopia, often known as near-sightedness, is a common visual issue that typically first appears between the ages of 6 and 14. Roughly 5% of toddlers, 9% of elementary schoolchildren, and 30% of high schoolers are affected. Having near-sighted parents increases a child's risk of developing myopia.

Objective: To assess the prevalence of myopia among school students in urban area Bangladesh and to explore the associations between reading and writing postures and myopia.

Methodology: A complicated, stratified, multistage sample design was used to select the participants from January 2019 to January 2020. Using a random number generator, we chose one urban region and one rural area in Bangladesh, and at least 50 students from each grade in elementary, middle, and high school participated in the studies. Students from elementary school (n=50), middle school (n=50), and high school (n=50) were all included in our study, which included a total of 150 participants.

Results: During the study, mean age of the patients was 10.50± 0.86 years. Followed by middle school group mean age was 14.09 ± 0.92 years and high school group was 16.55 ± 0.89. Plus majority were male. In primary school group 35% cases usually had their chest is more than the width of a fist from the edge of the table. Followed by in middle school group it was 25% and in high school group it was 27%. Plus, in primary school group 26% had usually eyes are more than 33 cm (one Chi) away from the book followed by in middle school group it was 30% and 31%. Regarding the associations between reading and writing postures and myopia, we identified that a reading distance >33 cm is a protective factor for myopia in female students [odds ratio (OR) = 0.31, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.15–0.64], in both primary school (OR = 0.55, 95% CI = 0.30–0.99) and middle school (OR = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.15–0.90)

Conclusion: A reading distance >33 cm can be used as an additional measure to prevent and control myopia. Proper postural measures for reading and writing may have educational and public health benefits.