Is Astigmatism a Common Problem in Urban Population of South India

PURPOSE: In urban population of Southern India, the prevalence of astigmatism, the axis of astigmatism and their determinants were evaluated MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was cross-sectional in nature, conducted from March to May 2019. Patients attending the Ophthalmology OPD of Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital in the study period were investigated in this study. All the examinations including visual acuity, refraction, slit-lamp biomicroscopy, fundoscopy and keratometry were performed in the Ophthalmology OPD. Only phakic eye that could be reliably refracted without any previous surgical history were included. RESULTS: Out of 1317 participants who were screened, 1062 were analyzed for this study, of whom 52 % were female. The prevalence of astigmatism was 32 % [95 % confidence intervals (CI): 30-34]. Astigmatism significantly increased from 14.3 % in the under-15 age group to 67.2 % in the age group of over-65 years old (P less than0.001). The prevalence of With-The-Rule (WTR), Against-The-Rule (ATR) and Oblique Astigmatism was 11.7 %, 18.1 % and 2.4 % respectively. ATR significantly increased with age (P less than0.001). The mean corneal astigmatism was 0.73D which linearly increased with age (P less than0.001). CONCLUSION: Attention must be paid to Astigmatism in Urban areas due to the high prevalence. Further studies are suggested to discover the role of the environmental and genetic factors. A high percentage of participants had ATR astigmatism, which was more common at older ages.