OPHTHALMOLOGIC EVALUATION IN PROFESSIONAL MALE SOCCER PLAYERS IN BRAZIL

ABSTRACT Introduction: Soccer is the most popular sport in Brazil and worldwide, but there is insufficient data on the eye health of soccer players, and eye conditions may affect the well-being and performance of these athletes. Objective: To perform an ocular evaluation of a representative sample of professional soccer players from Brazil. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted over four consecutive years (2009-2012) at a single professional soccer club in Brazil. The ophthalmology evaluation was performed by the same ophthalmologist in each sample. Prior to the ophthalmology evaluation, all participants filled out a questionnaire to provide the following demographic data: age, position, use of contact lenses or ophthalmic drugs, symptoms, previous ocular surgery, and date of the last ophthalmology evaluation. Visual acuity, intraocular pressure (IOP) and color vision were tested during the ophthalmologic examination, and ophthalmoscopy and biomicroscopy exams were performed. Results: One hundred and twenty bilateral ophthalmology evaluations were performed in 84 professional soccer players between 2009 and 2012. Pinguecula and pterygium were the most common conditions found in the athletes’ biomicroscopy exams, corresponding to 63% (38/60) and 17% (10/60) of abnormalities, respectively. In the contrast sensitivity evaluation, only one athlete was color blind. No significant associations were found between the position of the athlete and the results of the biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy exams. Conclusion: Despite the high prevalence of abnormalities found in the ophthalmology evaluation, most refractive abnormalities did not require correction, and the biomicroscopy abnormalities were mostly benign. Level III; Study of non-consecutive patients.