Background and Objective:

Myopia has become a public health problem, so it is important to know the prevalence of myopia in different populations, like in medical students who are considered a risk group. Our objective was to know the prevalence of myopia in medical students of the University of Monterrey, as well as to study the associated risk factors.

Methods:

A prospective, cross-sectional and observational study was conducted between October and December 2016. Three hundred medical students were evaluated regarding the presence of refractive errors through auto-kerato/refractometer measurement and a questionnaire to analyze the presence of known risk factors for myopia.

Results:

One hundred eighty-nine students (68.7%) had myopia in one eye, and 149 (54.2%) in both. From the factors evaluated, only two were statistically significant. One was that patients with myopia were older than those without it (21.60 ± 2.27 vs. 20.77 ± 2.61, respectively; p = 0.01), and the second one was history of need of visual correction in all siblings (29.1 vs. 17.4% respectively; p = 0.04). Reading time, computer use, exercise time, overweight/obesity, having parents or one sibling who needs visual correction were similar between groups.

Conclusions:

In this group of medical students, the prevalence of myopia based on a refraction without cycloplegia is higher compared to other demographic groups of the Americas, and the only associated risk factors were age and need of visual correction in all siblings.

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