[Trends of refractive correction in the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces: examination after the Great East Japan earthquake].

Purpose: To investigate the trends in refractive correction in Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces' (JGSDF) soldiers.

Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to 519 soldiers of the Camp Funaoka in the northeastern region.

Results: Five hundred and sixteen subjects (99.4%) responded. In total, 246 soldiers (47.7%) wore spectacles or contact lenses. Among the contact lens wearers, 52 had experienced problems previously and 35 reported problems that occurred during military exercises. With regard to military exercises, 66.9% and 63.5% of the spectacle or disposable soft contact lens-users reported inconvenience. Among contact lens users, 33.1% reported that they changed to new sterilized contact lenses only occasionally and 61.9% did not change their contact lenses at all during exercises. During disaster-relief work, subjects worried 'very' (21.5%) or 'somewhat' (46.9%) about problems associated with their spectacles or contact lenses. Twenty-four had undergone refractive surgery (4.9%).

Conclusion: About one-half of the JGSDF soldiers surveyed required refractive correction. Attention to convenient and safe refractive correction in the military is warranted.