Prevalence of Vision Impairment in School Children of Puente Piedra, Peru

Purpose: To document the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with vision impairment in Peruvian children living in Puente Piedra, a resource-poor community in Peru. Methods: Cross-sectional study of children ages 5-19 in Puente Piedra, Peru from March to April, 2011. Participants underwent a standard vision screening exam consisting of distance visual acuity (VA), stereopsis, external eye exam, and color vision testing and completed a sociodemographic and health risk factor questionnaire. Results: 387 children were examined; the mean uncorrected visual acuity of 20/25 ± 1 line. Eyeglasses were used by 3.7%. VA less than 20/30 was present in both eyes of 8.9% of children and in the worse eye of 26.3% of children. Severe visual impairment (