Abstract
Detecting alterations in the visual development of children is one of the optometrist’s missions, in order to prevent the onset and complication of visual problems. <em><strong>Objective</strong><em> To identify the refractive, motor, and pathological status of the anterior and posterior segment in children from two child development centers (CDC) in Pereira, Colombia. <em><strong>Materials and methods:</strong><em> This descriptive, retrospective, cross-sectional study examines the socio-demographic characteristics and visual and ocular morbidity of children in socioeconomic strata 0 and 1, according to the clinical records of examinations carried out in 2012 and 2013, and based on the children examined in 2014 and 2015. <em><strong>Results:</strong><em> 718 subjects were evaluated from the two CDCs, 46.1% female and 53.9% male, with a mean age of 46.2 months (SD ± 12.5). The ethnic group with the highest representation was mestizo (83.7%), followed by Afro-Colombian (13.8%), and indigenous (2.5%). The average spherical equivalent (M) was +0.34 D and the average cylinder was 0.17 D (J0), with a with-the-rule axis. The most prevalent refractive state was emmetropia (66.0%), followed by hypermetropia (16.0%), astigmatism (15.0%), and myopia (3.0%). Anisometropia had a prevalence of 5.2% strabismus 1.1% blepharitis 4.0%, and bacterial conjunctivitis 1.0%. <em><strong>Conclusions:</strong><em> The most frequent diagnoses were emmetropia, orthophoria, and blepharitis most of these data are different from those found in other ethnic studies reported in other countries.