Table 3 Prevalence rates of uncorrected refractive error among students who habitually wore visual aids (N = 365).
| No | Number with uncorrected refractive error | Uncorrected refractive error, percentage (95% CI) | Crude odds ratio (95% CI) | p Value (χ2 test) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 365 | 95 | 26.8 (22.5 to 31.0) | ||
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 163 | 37 | 22.7 (16.3 to 29.1) | 1 (referent) | 0.230 |
| Female | 202 | 58 | 28.7 (22.5 to 35.0) | 1.37 (0.85 to 2.21) | |
| Race | |||||
| Chinese | 276 | 67 | 24.3 (19.2 to 29.3) | 1 (referent) | 0.402 |
| Malay | 50 | 16 | 32.0 (19.5 to 46.7) | 1.47 (0.76 to 2.83) | |
| Indian and others | 39 | 12 | 23.5 (12.8 to 37.5) | 1.39 (0.67 to 2.89) | |
| Age (years) | |||||
| 12 | 344 | 89 | 25.9 (21.2 to 30.5) | 1 (referent) | 0.460 |
| 13 | 12 | 2 | 16.7 (2.08 to 48.4) | 0.57 (0.12 to 2.67) | |
| >13 | 9 | 4 | 44.4 (13.7 to 78.8) | 2.29 (0.60 to 8.73) | |
| Stream | |||||
| Express | 225 | 50 | 22.2 (16.8 to 27.7) | 1 (referent) | 0.005 |
| Normal academic | 91 | 24 | 26.4 (17.7 to 36.3) | 1.25 (0.71 to 2.20) | (trend) |
| Normal technical | 49 | 21 | 42.9 (28.8 to 57.8) | 2.62 (1.37 to 5.01) | |
| Number of parents with refractive error | |||||
| 0 | 114 | 36 | 31.6 (23.0 to 40.1) | 1 (referent) | 0.244 |
| 1 | 134 | 30 | 22.4 (15.3 to 29.4) | 0.63 (0.36 to 1.10) | |
| 2 | 117 | 29 | 24.8 (17.0 to 32.6) | 0.71 (0.40 to 1.27) | |
| Existing eye condition(s) | |||||
| Emmetropia only | 11 | 2 | 18.2 (2.29 to 51.8) | 1 (referent) | 0.802 |
| Myopia only | 219 | 54 | 24.7 (18.9 to 30.4) | 1.47 (0.31 to 7.03) | |
| Hyperopia only | 2 | 1 | 50.0 (12.6 to 98.7) | 4.50 (0.19 to 107) | |
| Astigmatism only | 4 | 1 | 25.0 (.62 to 80.6) | 1.50 (0.10 to 23.1) | |
| Two or more of the above | 129 | 37 | 28.7 (20.9 to 36.5) | 1.81 (0.37 to 8.78) | |
| Last visit to eye care provider | |||||
| <6 months ago | 162 | 34 | 21.0 (14.7 to 27.3) | 1 (referent) | 0.001 |
| >6 months, <1 year ago | 113 | 25 | 22.7 (14.9 to 30.6) | 1.05 (0.58 to 1.89) | (trend) |
| >1 year, <2 years | 75 | 28 | 37.3 (26.4 to 49.3) | 2.24 (1.23 to 4.09) | |
| >2 years | 15 | 8 | 50.0 (26.0 to 74.0) | 3.76 (1.39 to 10.2) | |
| Frequency of visit to eye care provider | |||||
| Once every 1–6 months | 77 | 25 | 32.5 (22.2 to 44.1) | 1 (referent) | 0.534 |
| Once every 7–12 months | 169 | 34 | 19.9 (13.8 to 26.0) | 0.52 (0.29 to 0.96) | (trend) |
| Once every 13–24 months | 104 | 28 | 26.9 (18.4 to 35.4) | 0.77 (0.40 to 1.46) | |
| No visit in recent 2 years | 15 | 8 | 53.3 (26.6 to 78.7) | 2.38 (0.78 to 7.29) | |