Prevalence of refractive errors and non-strabismic binocular vision anomalies in symptomatic and asymptomatic university students in Saudi Arabia

Abstract: PURPOSE: This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of refractive errors and nonstrabismic binocular vision anomalies in young adult university students with and without symptoms in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This study was conducted at the Department of Optometry at King Saud University, including 304 participants aged 16–35 years. The participants were categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic groups based on the total score of the Convergence Insufficiency (CI) Symptom Survey. Full and comprehensive optometric assessments–including subjective refraction, accommodation, and vergence–were performed, and a diagnosis was established by comparing various parameters specific to each patient. RESULTS: Among the 304 patients, 165 were female and 134 were male. The prevalence of all types of refractive errors was 46%, with myopic errors being the most common type. The prevalences of all types of accommodation and vergence anomalies were 33.50% and 50%, respectively. The most commonly observed accommodative anomaly was accommodative infacility, followed by accommodative insufficiency. The most commonly observed vergence anomaly was CI, followed by vergence infacility. Most participants reported symptoms; however, the differences in prevalence rates between symptomatic and asymptomatic participants were not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although refractive errors were fully corrected and visual acuity was within normal limits, full and comprehensive optometric assessments were crucial to detect different types of visual system anomalies. Early identification and management offer the best chance for academic success among symptomatic university individuals.