Reduced Visual Acuity and Asthenopic Symptoms among Secondary School Students in the Niger Delta

Background: The concept of visual acuity has metamorphosed from the nineteenth century. Overtime, it has been shown that Visual acuity assessment can reveal refractive errors, optical disorders and ocular diseases. The adverse health impact of reduced vision on the health of children is asthenopia (eye strain). Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was used that involved the use of Data form, for each of the 2 secondary schools and the administration of 360 self administered structured questionnaires to pupils in these secondary schools. A simple random sampling was employed in choosing the students that were studied. Results: Out of 350 students studied, 77.29% (194) of students with normal visual acuity had asthenopic symptoms, and 80.81% (80) of the 99 students with reduced visual acuity had asthenopic symptoms. In our study there was no significant association between visual acuity and asthenopic symptoms. (X2 calculated = 0.52, X2 tabulated = 3.84, degree of freedom = 1, ?-value = 0.05. therefore X2 tabulated > X2 calculated). Conclusion: The adverse health impact of reduced vision on the health of children is asthenopia (eye strain). Not many work exist on this. However, it is on records that reduced vision often results in a low motivation to explore the environment, initiate social interaction, and manipulate objects. Unlike what is believed that asthenopia results from reduced vision, in this study series there was no relationship between reduced visual acuity and asthenopic symptoms.