ABSTRACT

To investigate the incidence of eye dominance and relative factors in our state.

One hundred-sixty patients with a mean age of 42.75±6.38 (30-50) who was referred to Yalova State Hospital for refraction examination were included in the study. Patients were asked for which hand they use while writing and which foot they use while kicking the ball. Dolman’s method, keyhole and +2 methods were used for (hole-in-the-card test) determination of the ocular dominance. Visual acuity was tested and refractive errors were determined. Any association with all these findings and ocular dominance were investigated. Data analysis was performed by using SPSS for Windows version 12. Mann Whitney U test was used for mean variables, and Chi-square test was used for categorical comparisons. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Ninety-one patients were female and 69 were male. Right eye was dominant in 81.5%. Handedness with right hand while writing was found 88.8%, and kicking with right foot in 85%. There was no association with ocular dominance and writing hand (p=0.345), shooting foot (p=0.410) and refractive errors (p=0.465).

Right eye was more dominant than left eye. Detecting ocular dominance may be considered when planning to treat young adults, especially the presbyopic patients, and patients who will have cataract surgery to choose the correct eye for the treatment.

Keywords: Dominant eye, refractive error