Purpose: To analyze the prevalence of reduced visual acuity in students of elementary state public and private schools of Londrina's urban area; to compare the prevalence of reduced visual acuity in children of state public and private schools; to analyze and compare the prevalence of children wearing eye-glasses, and to describe the causes of reduced vision in this population. Methods: The visual acuity test was performed in 1688 school children of state public schools and in 611 school children of private schools. The children with visual acuity 0.7 or worse in one of the eyes were directed to a ophthalmic examination. Results: The reduced visual acuity prevalence in school children was 17.1% in state public schools, and 19.8% in private schools; this difference does not have statistical significance. The prevalence of children wearing eyeglasses was 2.4% in state public schools and 3.6% in private schools, without statistical significance between these results. The causes of reduced visual acuity were refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus and other causes. Conclusion: The prevalence of reduced visual acuity in students of elementary state public and private schools was statistically the same, as well as the prevalence of children wearing eyeglasses. The causes of reduced visual acuity were refractive errors, amblyopia, strabismus, congenital cataract aphakia, zonular congenital cataract, persistent of the hyperplastic primary vitreous, optic nerve atrophy and macular disorder.
Visual acuity; Cross-sectional studies; School health; Health education
