Table 3.
Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with significant myopia
| Variable | No | Significant myopia (%) | Prevalence ratio | Confidence interval (95%) | p Value* |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 1481 | 4.5 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Female | 1030 | 7.2 | 1.6 | 1.2 to 2.2 | 0.004 |
| Age (years) | |||||
| 11–13 | 185 | 14.1 | 2.7 | 1.8 to 4.2 | <0.001 |
| 14–16 | 1236 | 5.2 | 1.0 | – | – |
| 17+ | 1090 | 4.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 to 1.3 | 0.580 |
| Ethnic group | |||||
| African | 2258 | 4.7 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Non-African | |||||
| South-Asian | 141 | 17.0 | 3.6 | 2.4 to 5.4 | <0.001 |
| Arab | 40 | 10.0 | 2.1 | 0.8 to 5.5 | 0.124† |
| White | 4 | 25.0 | 5.3 | 1.0 to 29.1 | 0.178† |
| Mixed | 68 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 to 3.7 | 0.321 |
| Total | 253 | 13.4 | 2.8 | 2.0 to 4.1 | <0.001 |
| Father’s occupation | |||||
| Unskilled work | 357 | 3.1 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Skilled work | 493 | 5.7 | 1.8 | 0.9 to 3.7 | 0.074 |
| Trading | 684 | 7.0 | 2.3 | 1.2 to 4.3 | 0.009 |
| Professional | 760 | 6.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 to 3.8 | 0.035 |
| Unknown or dead | 217 | 3.7 | 1.2 | 0.5 to 2.9 | 0.692 |
| Mother’s occupation | |||||
| Unskilled work | 316 | 4.4 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Skilled work | 256 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 0.7 to 2.7 | 0.439 |
| Trading | 482 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 to 1.5 | 0.420 |
| Professional | 450 | 4.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 to 1.9 | 0.889 |
| Housewife | 944 | 7.7 | 1.8 | 1.0 to 3.1 | 0.045 |
| Unknown or dead | 63 | 6.4 | 1.4 | 0.5 to 4.2 | 0.385 |
| Father’s education | |||||
| Secondary or less | 1231 | 4.7 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Post-secondary | 924 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 1.1 to 2.2 | 0.009 |
| Unknown or dead | 356 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 to 1.6 | 0.698 |
| Mother’s education | |||||
| Primary or none | 1224 | 4.6 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Secondary | 530 | 7.4 | 1.6 | 1.1 to 2.4 | 0.018 |
| Post-secondary | 571 | 6.8 | 1.5 | 1.0 to 2.2 | 0.047 |
| Unknown or dead | 186 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 0.4 to 1.8 | 0.618 |
| Parents speak English | |||||
| None | 560 | 3.6 | 1.0 | – | – |
| Father only | 885 | 5.4 | 1.5 | 0.9 to 2.5 | 0.105 |
| Mother only | 158 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.5 to 2.9 | 0.616 |
| Both | 899 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 1.3 to 3.4 | 0.003 |
| Unknown or dead | 9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | 1.000† |
| Parents own a: | |||||
| Car | |||||
| no | 1808 | 4.9 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 703 | 7.5 | 1.6 | 1.1 to 2.2 | 0.009 |
| Television | |||||
| no | 811 | 3.8 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 1700 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 1.2 to 2.5 | 0.007 |
| Computer | |||||
| no | 2284 | 5.2 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 227 | 9.7 | 1.9 | 1.2 to 2.9 | 0.005 |
| Parents have use of a: | |||||
| Car | |||||
| no | 1465 | 4.6 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 1046 | 7.1 | 1.6 | 1.1 to 2.1 | 0.007 |
| Home: | |||||
| Owned | |||||
| no | 466 | 8.2 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 2045 | 5.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 to 0.9 | 0.008 |
| Rented | |||||
| no | 2026 | 5.3 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 485 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 0.9 to 1.9 | 0.205 |
| Provided free | |||||
| no | 2266 | 5.3 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 245 | 9.0 | 1.7 | 1.1 to 2.6 | 0.016 |
| Sibling(s) with spectacles: | |||||
| no | 1916 | 4.8 | 1.0 | – | – |
| yes | 570 | 8.1 | 1.7 | 1.2 to 2.4 | 0.002 |
| No siblings | 25 | 16.0 | 3.4 | 1.3 to 8.5 | 0.031† |
*Pearson’s χ2 test for heterogeneity.
†Fisher’s exact test.