Prevalence of Near Esophoria among Young Adults in Imo State University Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

Vergence anomalies describe the anomalous disjunctive movement of the eyes in which thereis a resultant convergent or divergent movement of the eyes, causing the eyes to inaccuratelyfixate and stabilize an image on the retina. Basic heterophoria is a common vergenceanomaly, with esophoria as a form of heterophoria characterized by the inward deviation ofthe eye towards the nose upon dissociation of binocular fusion. Esophoria may be expressedat far (6m) or at near (40cm) and is associated with various symptoms as diplopia, headaches,blurred vision, poor concentration, and eye strain. This cross sectional study assessed theprevalence of esophoria at near among young adults in the Imo State University community,with the objective to determine the influence of age and gender on near esophoria among thestudy population. This was done by conducting the Von Graefe phoria test at near on eligibleconsenting subjects, 400 students aged 18 – 30 years old, in the Optometry clinic of the ImoState University, Owerri. The study findings revealed a high prevalence of esophoria at near,confirmed in 47% of the study population. Analysis of the findings with the ANOVAstatistical tool, revealed that esophoria at near showed no significant relationship with age orgender in this study. The findings of this study reveal that the presence of esophoria at near inthe young adult may be more commonly present, thus the near phoria status in young adultsespecially engaged in near work ought to be carefully evaluated routinely by clinicians.