Global prevalence of hyperopia

Hyperopia is a common refractive error, particularly in young children. Although its prevalence has not been studied to the same extent as myopia, knowledge of its rates among the world population, its early detection and treatment is a matter of vital importance, since moderate or high degrees of this refractive error may lead to other visual impairment conditions. This review provides a summary of hyperopia prevalence rates in the young and adult population worldwide. J Emmetropia 2015; 6: 109-116. Submitted 10/24/2014 Revised 5/5/2015 Accepted 9/6/2015 1Optometry Research Group (GIO). University of Valencia. Spain. Acknowledgements: This work was funded in part by European grant ERC2012-StG 309416-SACCO. Financial disclosure: The authors have no proprietary interest in any of the materials mentioned in this article. Corresponding Author: Daniel Monsálvez Romín Departamento de Óptica – Universidad de Valencia C/ Dr. Moliner, no 50. 46100, Burjassot, Spain. E-mail: [email protected] UPDATE/REVIEW Hyperopia, also known as hypermetropia or farsightedness, is a common refractive error found in children and adults, although its prevalence tends to be higher in children. It can be the result of a non-pathological eye structure, which is the main cause in most cases and is known as physiological hyperopia, but it can also be due to poor development, disease or trauma. Depending on whether the magnitude of physiological hyperopia is moderate or severe, it can lead to additional visual impairments such as strabismus, amblyopia or other ocular complications that constitute a significant health problem1. These complications have been associated with poor school performance in children, and thus hinders their appropriate development2. Moreover, refractive errors like hyperopia are conditions with high economic costs associated with their correction3. Although hyperopia is one of the leading causes of visual impairment, it has not been investigated to the same extent as myopia, and prevalence studies are not as numerous. However, it is important to know its prevalence and the degree to which people are affected, in order to plan health services, since uncorrected refractive errors may result in impaired quality of life and productivity loss4. The aim of this review is to provide a summary of hyperopia prevalence rates in the young and adult population throughout the world. HYPEROPIA PREVALENCE RATES IN DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS Epidemiologic studies have been carried out indifferent locations around the world in various age, sex and ethnic groups, in an attempt to assess the prevalence rates of hyperopia. North and South America Several studies on hyperopia prevalence rates have been conducted in North and South America. One retrospective cross-sectional study evaluated a total of 784 randomly selected subjects aged over 40 years between 2004 and 2010 at Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry Eye Institute Clinics. Hyperopia (spherical equivalent refractive [SER] > +0.50 dioptres [D]) measured by means of subjective refraction was found in 51.5% of subjects, and was the most common refractive error among all patients in this group. Although it was found to be more common in females, differences between gender were not statistically significant5. In Baltimore, Maryland (USA), another study evaluated the prevalence of refractive errors in white and African-American preschool children aged 6 to 71 months with cyclopegic autorefraction (or retinoscopy if the first method failed). The prevalence of higher hyperopia (SER ≥ +3.00 D) in the less hyperopic eye was 8.9% in white children, and 4.4% in African-American children6. The 1999-