{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T12:02:12Z","timestamp":1773748932432,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO\/EMRO)","issue":"3","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["East Mediterr Health J."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Normal visual development starts early in childhood, and achieving optimal corrected visual acuity, binocular function and ocular alignment is key to healthy visual maturation.\nAim: To assess the prevalence of refractive error, amblyopia and ocular alignment among school children in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia. Methods: Using a modified refractive error study in school-aged children protocol, we collected data from 850 children aged 6\u201317 years from 6 randomly selected schools in Qassim, Saudi Arabia, between March and May 2024. We assessed refractive error with a noncycloplegic autorefractometer, ocular alignment with the alternate cover test and prism bar, and anterior\/posterior segments using a slit-lamp and ophthalmoscopy. We analysed the data using SPSS version 25 and further analysed the prevalence of refractive error amblyopia and ocular misalignment using MedCalc for Windows. P &lt; 0.05 was regarded as statistical significance. Results: The overall prevalence of refractive error was 61.1%, including hyperopia (30.5%), myopia (19.3%) and astigmatism (11.3%). M ost children (68.0%) had o rthophoria at near fixation. Phoria was found in 25.5% of children, predominantly exophoria (19.8%), while strabismus was present in 6.5%, mainly esotropia (4.8%). Ocular alignment status was significantly associated with age and gender (P &lt; 0.001). Amblyopia affected 8.4% of the children, with higher prevalence in males (P = 0.034) but there was no significant association with age (P = 0.094). Children without previous eye examinations were at higher risk for developing amblyopia (odds ratio = 3.58, P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: The high prevalence of refractive error, amblyopia and strabismus in this study indicates an increased risk of visual disorder among the children. There is therefore a need for routine vision screening and improved access to paediatric eye care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.26719\/2026.32.3.149","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T11:09:51Z","timestamp":1773745791000},"page":"149-155","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Refractive error, amblyopia and ocular alignment among schoolchildren in Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.26719","volume":"32","author":[{"given":"Saif Hassan","family":"Alrasheed","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Optometry, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Saja A.","family":"Alhoshan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, King Abdulaziz Medical City, National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Bashair N.","family":"Alnasser","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Ophthalmology, Armed Forces Hospital, Armed Forces Medical Services, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"11263","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"container-title":["Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/applications.emro.who.int\/EMHJ\/V32\/03\/1020-3397-2026-3203-149-155-eng.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T11:09:51Z","timestamp":1773745791000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/applications.emro.who.int\/EMHJ\/V32\/03\/1020-3397-2026-3203-149-155-eng.pdf"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.26719\/2026.32.3.149","relation":{},"ISSN":["1020-3397","1687-1634"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1020-3397","type":"print"},{"value":"1687-1634","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]}}}