Vision Crisis in Vietnamese Classrooms: Study Reveals Nearly 40% of Students Affected by Refractive Errors
A meta-analysis of over 32,000 Vietnamese school children reveals that 37.6% have refractive errors, with myopia affecting an estimated 6 million children nationwide, marking a significant public health concern.
Key Findings:
- Myopia is the dominant vision problem: Around 29% of Vietnamese schoolchildren have myopia, contributing to 37.6% with refractive errors overall—affecting an estimated 6–8 million children nationwide.
- Marked disparities: Refractive errors are more common in girls than boys and more than twice as prevalent in urban compared with rural children.
- Data limitations: Wide variation in screening methods and refractive error definitions across studies limits the reliability of pooled estimates.
Future Directions:
These findings contribute to growing evidence of Asia’s myopia epidemic and highlight the urgent need for coordinated regional responses to childhood refractive errors.
Reference: Nguyen, H-Y.T., Ghorbani-Mojarrad, N. Cufflin, M., & Mallen, E. (2025) Prevalence of refractive errors in Vietnamese school children: a meta-analysis. Clinical and Experimental Optometry. DOI: 10.1080/08164622.2025.2551751
