The Refraction of Indian School Children: a Comparison of Data from East Africa and India.

VERY little is known about the refractive state of populations in some of the technically underdeveloped countries of the world. What data there are from these parts have usually been collected in the course of an ophthalmic practice and are not representative of the population as a whole. Thorough studies have been made of very few groups, notably of palaenegrids by Holm (1937), Eskimos by Skeller (1954), and Indian children in Poona by Pendse (1954). The last report is of particular interest in that the refractions of two distinct social groups, the Brahmins and "untouchables", are compared and the possibility of environmental factors being responsible for the differences found is considered.