145 / 2019-11-14 19:03:19

Six-Year Trends on Prevalence of Myopia among School Children in Liuyang, Central South China: Screening Data from 2013 to 2018

Epidemiology,Myopia,Prevalence,School children

Purpose: To investigate the trends in the prevalence of myopia among all under-college school children (6-18 years) from 2013 to 2018 in Liuyang district, Central South of China.
Methods: This is a large-scale population-based retrospective study. Data were collected from 854907 school children from grades 1 to 12. Uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) test was conducted by using the Standard Logarithmic Visual Acuity E chart. Score lower than 5.0 mark of UCVA was recorded as myopia after a slip lamp exclusion of opacities. The yearly age specific prevalence and prevalence on severe myopia were calculated and compared to show the serial trends.
Results: The prevalence of overall myopia increased from 24.3% to 35.9% from 2013 to 2018, with a significant trend of increase (p<0.001). Persistence higher prevalence were seen in girls than boys, urban dwellers than rural dwellers, and senior high school than that of junior high or primary school Children. Significant increase trends in the prevalence of severe myopia were seen across ages (from 6-18 years) within each year and across time (from year 2013 to 2018) in each age group among students aged from 11 to 18 years old (p<0.001).
Conclusions: There was a remarkable yearly increase in myopia prevalence among school children of all ages and across all grades in China from 2013 to 2018, especially in female, urban and high school students. It is urgently needed of an effective public health intervention for the control of myopia among Chinese school children.