Author:

• Juliana das Chagas Meroni - Meroni, J.C - <julianameroni@gmail.com>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9094-9049

Co-author(s):

• Bruna Gonçalves Cordeiro da Silva - Silva, B.G.C - <brugcs@hotmail.com>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2917-7320
• Ana Maria Baptista Menezes - Menezes, A.M.B - <anamene.epi@gmail.com>
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4129-0898

Abstract:

The objectives of the study were to evaluate the prevalence of self-reported visual difficulty among undergraduate students aged between 18 and 39 years old of the Federal University of Pelotas and to validate a question about visual difficulty, through the application of the Snellen chart, in a subsample of the participants. A cross-sectional study was carried out, and the question about visual difficulty was: \"Do you have some difficulty to see up close and/or far?\" As the gold standard, visual acuity (VA) was measured through the Snellen chart. Patients with VA less than 20/40 in any eye were considered to have reduced VA. The prevalence of self-reported visual difficulty was 37.3% (95%CI: 35.1-39.6) and VA less than 20/40 in any eye was 6.9% (95%CI: 5.3-8.9). The question showed sensitivity of 71.4% (95%CI: 57.8-82,7), specificity of 66.9% (95%CI: 63.4-70,2), positive predictive value of 13.8% (95%CI: 10.0-18.3), and negative predictive value of 96.9% (95%CI: 95,1-98,2). The results indicated a high prevalence of self-reported visual difficulty among university students. The question showed reasonable sensitivity and specificity and high negative predictive value and may be used for screening for ophthalmological evaluation in young university adults.

Keywords:

sensitivity and specificity, vision disorders, surveys and questionnaires, visual acuity.

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