Study highlights high myopia burden among schoolchildren in rural China
A cross-sectional study by Li et al. assessed the prevalence of myopia in children and associated demographic and behavioural factors across seven rural counties in seven provinces of China.
Key Findings:
- The study examined 2,519 schoolchildren aged 6–17 years, including 1,307 males (51.9%) and 1,212 females (48.1%); 50.5% were from county towns and 49.5% from rural villages.
- Myopia prevalence was 42.9% and was higher among females than males (46.0% vs 39.9%), children in higher grades (68.3% in grades 7-9 vs 18.2% in grades 1-3), and those attending county-town schools (49.6% vs 36.1% in rural schools).
- Myopic children reported more daily near-work time than non-myopic children (3.22 hours vs 2.30 hours), while daily outdoor time was not significantly associated with myopia after adjustment.
- Females had 52% higher odds than males; and each additional hour of daily near work was associated with 10% higher odds of having myopia.
- Only 14.2% of children with myopia had adequate optical correction, with coverage lower among myopic children in rural villages than those in county towns (10.4% vs 16.8%), revealing a substantial gap in access to appropriate vision correction.
Reference: Li X, Zhang H, Fang X, et al. Myopia Prevalence Among 6–17 Years Students in Rural Areas of Seven Provinces of China. J Clin Med. 2026;15(9):1-11. doi:10.3390/jcm15093261
