The Shiraz pediatric eye study; a population based survey of school age children: Rationale, design and baseline characteristics

Purpose: To describe the rationale, study design, methodology, and baseline characteristics of the Shiraz Pediatric Eye Study, a population-based survey of schoolchildren in Shiraz, Iran. Methods: This population-based study included schoolchildren aged 6–12 years from all four educational districts of Shiraz who were recruited in years 2015–2016. Stratified random sampling was used to select 2400 participants from all districts. Data were recorded from a detailed interview and ocular evaluation of each eligible student. The eye examination comprised uncorrected and best corrected visual acuity measurement, refraction, external eye examination (including specific strabismus and lid evaluation tests), slit lamp biomicroscopy, intraocular pressure measurement, the Ishihara color vision test, and stereoacuity. Exophthalmometry, optical biometry, and optical coherence tomography were performed for a randomly selected subset of children. General characteristics and socioeconomic variables were also recorded to assess risk factors. Results: From a total of 2400 selected students, 2001 (83.3%) participated in the study. The mean age of the students was 9.1 ± 1.6 years, and 59.7% were girls. Most children had at least one parent with a diploma or less than diploma (63.5%), and 2.2% had illiterate parents. Conclusion: This study is expected to provide accurate estimates of the prevalence of visual impairments and their related determinants in Shiraz. In addition, it will identify children who should be targeted by blindness prevention programs