Prevalência e fatores associados à realização de acompanhamento oftalmológico em crianças até os cinco anos de idade

Abstract

Objective: to describe and analyze the prevalence and factors related to ophthalmological consultations in children up to 5 years of age. Methods: This was a quantitative, cross-sectional, analytical study of first and second year public elementary school children in Soledade-RS, carried out between October and December 2023. The 14 schools in the municipality were invited to take part in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires in physical format sent by the schools to the children's parents/guardians. Students whose parents/guardians returned the completed questionnaires and the signed Informed Consent Form took part in the study. The questionnaires collected information on sociodemographic characteristics (race, age and gender), clinical and epidemiological characteristics (prenatal care, eye prick test, ophthalmologic follow-up up to the age of 5, regular ophthalmologic follow-up, frequency of ophthalmologic consultations, presence of an ophthalmologist in the municipality, presence of ocular signs and symptoms, use of vision correction, disabilities, comorbidities) of the child, and the epidemiology of the father/legal guardian (race, age, gender, relationship to the child, schooling, work, income, vision problem). The prevalence of the outcome (having an ophthalmology appointment by the age of 5) and of the independent variables (sociodemographic, clinical and epidemiological characteristics) was calculated using Pearson's chi-square and Fisher's exact tests with a significance level of 0.05% in the PSPP free version program. Results: The total sample was 432 students; of these, only 12.7% (n=55) had an ophthalmological consultation by the age of 5. The factors related to not having an ophthalmological assessment were the father's/guardian's age group of up to 25 years (p=0.014), the father's/guardian's non-white skin color (p=0.045), the father's schooling (high school, p=0.001) and the mother's (p=0.013), low family income (up to 3 minimum wages, p=0.001), the absence of a vision problem in the parents (p=0.001) and the children's non-use of vision correction (p<0.001). Conclusion: the prevalence of ophthalmic follow-up up to the age of 5 was lower than expected when compared to the data available in the literature, and was mainly related to socioeconomic vulnerability.