Nwakuche I. P.^1,, Iwuagwu F. O.², Ikonne E. U.³

The present study investigated the effect of refractive error or ametropia on the spatial array of vision among young adults in Owerri Municipal, Imo State, Nigeria. The examined ametropias were myopia and hyperopia. A total of 100 persons were used for this study, 40 % had normal binocular central visual field, while 60 % of the total number had abnormal central visual field. The result revealed that ametropes whose degree of error > ±7.00 D had no normal binocular central visual field, while those with < ±3.00 D had a higher percentage normal visual field in decreasing diopters. A non-significant difference (p<0.05) was observed on the effect of myopes and hyperopes on the central visual fields of the examined subjects. The result obtained from the effect of gender on ametropic condition indicated no association between central visual field involvements with sex in ametropic condition of the eye. However, the ametropic condition of the higher degree affects the central isopter size drastically. There were significant relationship (p< 0.05) observed in myopia, hyperopia and the blind spot size. The present study has established that ametropia affects the central visual field efficiency in young adults.

ametropia, refractive error, visual field, myopes, hyperopes