Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat said that according to Circular No. 105/2023/TT-BQP on health examination and classification for military service, among refractive eye defects, astigmatism over 1.5 diopters is scored 3, meaning good health, eligible for military service.
Mr. Dat said that he had astigmatism level 4 (4 diopters). When he went to the Central Eye Hospital for an eye exam, he could not see any lines of text and was assessed with vision of only 3/10 and 4/10 in both eyes. However, according to the above Circular, people with astigmatism of 10 diopters are still given a score of 3, while for refractive eye defects such as nearsightedness and farsightedness, those with 3 points or more are not qualified for military service.
Therefore, Mr. Dat requested the authorities to clarify the above shortcomings.
The Military Medical Department, General Department of Logistics, Ministry of National Defense responded to this issue on the Government Electronic Information Portal as follows:
Astigmatism is a common refractive error that can appear at birth or from childhood, and rarely changes throughout life. Some cases of astigmatism develop after eye trauma, eye disease, or eye surgery. Astigmatism can be combined with nearsightedness (myopia) or farsightedness (hyperopia) or alone (this case is quite rare).
Most cases of mild (physiological) astigmatism do not require treatment and the eye will compensate by itself, the patient does not need to wear glasses. In cases of severe astigmatism, often accompanied by nearsightedness or farsightedness: If it is congenital, it will cause amblyopia if not actively treated from an early age; if it is acquired, it is often a consequence, a sequela of some serious diseases such as keratoconus, lens dislocation...
In cases of simple astigmatism over 1.0 diopter (not accompanied by other eye diseases), if glasses are worn properly, the vision after wearing glasses is 10/10, almost not affecting normal activities.
When examining eyes in the military health examination, the doctor must base on vision, refractive errors and eye diseases (if any) to give points for eye indicators. In particular, the regulations for scoring refractive errors and astigmatism are implemented according to Sub-section 1, Section II, Appendix I issued with Circular No. 105/2023/TT-BQP dated December 6, 2023 of the Minister of National Defense stipulating health standards and health examinations for subjects under the management of the Ministry of National Defense.
According to the above regulations, in case a citizen has astigmatism of 4.0 diopters, vision of both eyes is 3/10 and 4/10, the score will be as follows:
- Astigmatism (≥ 1.0 diopter): Score 3.
- Eye vision (right eye 1-5/10; total vision of both eyes 6/10-12/10): Score 6.
