Amplitude of accommodation and age of onset of presbyopia in South-East, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the amplitude of accommodation and age of onset of presbyopia among adults in Onitsha, South-East Nigeria. Materials and methods: Participants were selected through multi-stage random sampling from 10 secondary schools in Onitsha. A pre-tested self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and ocular health. Ocular examination included distance and near visual acuity tests, refraction, external eye examination, funduscopy and measurement of amplitude of accommodation. Results: Three hundred and forty teachers made up of 63 males (18.5%) and 277 females (81.5%) were studied. The age range was 24 – 60 years; mean: 45.2±7.4SD years. The amplitude of accommodation ranged from 1.8 - 9.8 dioptres; mean: 4.7±2.7SD dioptres. Conclusions: Nigerian adults have lower amplitudes of accommodation than Caucasians of comparable age and may require presbyopic correction earlier than their Caucasian counterpart.