Refractive Errors and Visual Impairment Among Adults Attending Roshana Speciality Eye Hospital in Herat
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Aims Evidence on refractive errors among adults attending eye hospitals in Herat is limited. This study examined their frequency, clinical distribution, sociodemographic associations, and accompanying visual impairment. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study consecutively enrolled 353 adults aged ≥18 years at Roshana Specialized Eye Hospital, Herat, Afghanistan, from December 2025 to March 2026. Clinical diagnoses, retinoscopy findings, ocular history, and Snellen visual acuity were recorded. Participants were classified by their primary refractive diagnosis. Uncorrected and habitual-condition acuity distributions were summarized descriptively; best-corrected visual acuity was unavailable. Multivariable logistic regression estimated adjusted odds ratios (AORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A primary refractive diagnosis was recorded in 249 participants (70.5%). Myopia was the most frequent category (28.0%), followed by hyperopia (13.6%). Astigmatism alone accounted for 9.3%; the three explicitly astigmatic categories together comprised 80 participants (22.7%). Compared with adults aged ≥60 years, those aged 18–39 years (AOR = 0.226; 95% CI: 0.084–0.611) and 40–59 years (AOR = 0.282; 95% CI: 0.115–0.690) had lower adjusted odds of any recorded refractive error. No or mild better-eye impairment was recorded in 238/350 uncorrected observations (68.0%) and 312/349 habitual-condition observations (89.4%). Three participants had blindness-level acuity in the habitual condition. Conclusion Refractive errors were common among these hospital attendees, particularly older adults. The findings support routine refraction, review of existing spectacles, and further assessment of persistent visual loss. Hospital selection and limitations in diagnostic and acuity documentation restrict generalizability and interpretation of differences between viewing conditions.
Institutions: Herat University, Jami University
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7225595149