Patterns of Use and Knowledge about Contact Lens Wear amongst Teenagers in Rural Areas in Malaysia

BACKGROUND: Contact lenses (CLs) are more popular than spectacles for vision correction amongst the youth. Knowledge about the risks of wearing CLs is critical especially for those with poor access to public health education. This study investigates the patterns of use and level of knowledge about CL wear amongst teenagers living in rural areas in Selangor, Malaysia using a set of validated questionnaires.

METHODS: A total of 8500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed in eight selected secondary schools. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: A total of 2474 (29%) completed questionnaires were collected. The mean age of the respondents was 14.8 ± 1.5 years, and approximately 7.2% were CL wearers. The majority of the wearers were females (76.0%) and wore soft CLs (92.2%). Cosmetic purposes (58.1%) and comfort (24.6%) were the main reasons for wearing CLs. Many of the respondents purchased their lenses from optical shops (50.1%) and beauty accessory shops (15.6%), and approximately 10% did not disinfect their lenses properly. Regarding knowledge about CL care, approximately 56% of the respondents responded correctly.

CONCLUSION: Half of the respondents do not have sufficient knowledge about the risks of wearing CLs. Thus, aggressive public health education aimed at teenagers is needed to prevent improper CL usage.