Prevalence of Refractive Errors in New Medical and Nursing Students
at Asahikawa Medical University

1. Satoshi Ishiko¹
2. Kagokawa Hiroyuki²
3. Kazuhiro Sugawara²
4. Yuichiro Kawamura³
5. Mitose Fujio³
6. Akitoshi Yoshida²

¹Department of Medicine and Engineering Combined Research Institute, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan
²Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan.
³Health Administration Center, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Japan

Purpose: To evaluate the myopia prevalence in new medical and nursing students at Asahikawa Medical University.

Methods: A total of 182 eyes of 91 students (65 men, 26 women, 20.2±3.3 years old) in the medical school and 112 eyes of 56 students (6 men, 50 women, 18.4±1.2 years old) in the nursing school were included. The refractive error was measured using a refractometer (TONOREF RKT-7700, Nidek, Japan). The axial length was measured using A-mode ultrasound (IOL MASTER 500, Zeiss, Germany).

Results: The mean spherical equivalent (SE) refractive error in nursing students was -3.8±2.4 diopters (D). The prevalence of myopia (SE of at least -0.5 D) was 92.9%, and that of high myopia (SE exceeding -6 D) was 18.8%. In medical students, the mean SE was -4.8±2.7 D, which was significantly (p<0.01) higher than in nursing students. The prevalence of myopia was 96.2%, and that of high myopia was 34.1%. In both groups, the SE in women was significantly (p<0.03) more myopic than in men. The SE was significantly (p<0.01) more myopic in students with at least one myopic patient. The SE was significantly (p<0.01) correlated with the axial length.

Conclusion: We found a high prevalence of myopia among the first-year medical and nursing students at Asahikawa Medical University. Although the prevalence among women was much higher in nursing students, the prevalence of myopia was much higher in medical students. The myopia prevalence in the new students differs among the different specialty courses even in the same university.