Epidemiologic study of anisometropia in students of Natal, Brazil.

Purpose: To perform an epidemiologic study in students in Natal/Brazil, with relation to refractional anisometropia, evaluating criteria such as: gender, age, and association with strabismus and amblyopia.

Methods: A study of 1,024 students randomly selected from several districts of Natal/Brazil was undertaken by the Department of Ophthalmology of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), observing the following criteria of > or =2 spherical or cylindrical diopter refractional anisometropia relating it to sex, age, association with strabismus, amblyopia and anisometropia classification.

Results: We found a prevalence of 2% (N=21) anisometropia in the students.