Prevalence of non-strabismic binocular vision anomalies among welders

Abstract

Aim: To find out the prevalence of Non-Strabismic Binocular Vision Anomalies among welders Methods: A community-based Cross-sectional study was conducted in Butwal Sub Metropolitan city of Nepal among welders of age between 18 to 35 years from the date January 2021 to April 2022. A convenient sampling technique was used. all the Subjects were screened in the community to rule out exclusion criteria and inclusion criteria of the study. All the subjects who met the inclusion criteria underwent the NSBVA assessment at the community level. Descriptive and analytical analysis was done by SPSS. Results: A total of 180 subjects were enrolled in the study. All the subjects were male. The mean age and standard deviation of participants were 28.48 ±5.858. The prevalence of NSBVA among welders was 33.33%. Among the anomalies, Convergence insufficiency (13.3%) was more prevalent among welders followed by accommodative Insufficiency (6.7%), accommodative infacility (4.4%), accommodative excess (3.9%), convergence excess (2.8%), Basic esophoria (1.7%), and divergence excess (0.6%). Among the age group, 31 to 35 years had a higher proportion of NSBVA (18.33% )followed by 18 to 25 (7.78%) and 26 to 30 (7.22%). There was a mild correlation (r=0.166) between age and NABVA (Spearman correlation P value 0.026). There was a (Walcoxan rank sum test p-value 0.004) mild correlation between a Working experience(r=0.303) with NSBVA (spearman correlation p-value 0.0001). Total near-work exposure in dioptre per week and NSBVA was statistically significant (spearman correlation p-value 0.017) with mild correlation(r=0.17). Conclusion: NSBVA is prevalent among welders among NSBVA convergence insufficiency is a common type of NSBVA seen among welders. NSBVA is prevalent among 31-35 years age group of welders than age 18 to 30 years. Age group, working experience and total near work have a positive correlation with the occurrence of NSBVA.