Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate the prevalence and time trends of myopia in Chinese preschool children from 2001 to 2021.
Methods :
We analyzed 69 kindergarten-based studies from25 provinces or autonomous regions of China. All studies reporting the prevalence of myopia in preschool children (3 to 6 years) from 2001 to 2021 were evaluated and analyzed. The pooled prevalence and its temporal trend was estimated.
Results :
A total of 336,608 preschool children were included. The prevalence of myopia was 6.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]:6.5, 6.6) in participants without cycloplegia, or 2.6% (95%CI:2.5, 2.7) in participants with cycloplegia. The number was 4.7% (95%CI: 4.7, 4.8) when all data was combined. A continuous rise in myopia was observed over time (2001-2010: 2.1%, 2011-2015: 3.3%, 2016-2019: 5.6%, 2020-2021: 9.3%, P <0.001). Similar trends were also observed in both non-cycloplegia and cycloplegia subgroups (non-cycloplegia participants: 2001-2010: 3.6%, 2011-2015: 4.4%, 2016-2019: 6.9%, 2020-2021: 10.7%; cycloplegia participants: 2001-2010: 1.9%, 2011-2015: 2.5%, 2016-2019: 2.5%, 2020-2021: 6.5%) (Fig 1). An average increase in myopia per five years was 2.3%, 2.4%, and 1.6%, in all subjects, non-cycloplegia group, and cycloplegia group, respectively. A steep rise was found after the Covid-19 pandemic, with a significantly higher increase rate as compared with the change before pandemic (0.3% per year versus 1.9% per year, P<0.001).
Conclusions :
The prevalence of myopia among preschool children aged 3 to 6 years in China was ranged from 2.1% to 9.3% from 2001 to 2021. A steady and continuous rise in myopia was observed till 2019, while a sharp rise coincided with the pandemic after 2020.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.