Prevalence of Strabismus, Heterophoria and the Types Among Elementary Students in Hamedan, Iran

Purpose: To determine the prevalence of Strabismus, Heterophoria and the types among 7-12 years old students in Hamedan, Iran.Methods: In a cross-sectional study 683 students selected through a multi staged sampling method. The examinations included cycloplegic refraction, UCVA, BCVA and Cover test. Distant and near cover test wereperformed at 6 m and 40 cm, respectively, with the best corrected visual acuity. Data were analyzed by SPSS-18 using Chi-square test. Results: of the 683 participants, information was gathered of 668 students. The mean age of participants was 9.7±1.12 years old. The prevalence of strabismus was 1.82% (95% CI 1.15-2.25). The prevalence of strabismus was 2.19% in boys and 1.54% in girls. The prevalence of exotropia and esotropia was 1.35% and 0.41%, respectively. The prevalence of Heterophoria was 29.91% (95% CI 24.05-41.11). Conclusion: The prevalence of Strabismus and Heerophoria among elementary students in Asadabad is midrange in comparison with other studies and not high. Moreover, the prevalence of exotropia and exophoria was higher than esotropia and esophoria. The results of this study can help stakeholders to design health programs.