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. 2024 Oct 21;24(1):2904.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20387-y.

Prevalence and association of uncorrected refractive error among Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Yue Zhou #  1 , Xiaojuan Chen #  2 , Xiaobo Huang  2 , Lele Li  2 , Yan Zhu  2 , Qi Cai  2 , Yu Song  2 , Zhi Min Sun  2 , Peirong Lu  3
Affiliations

Prevalence and association of uncorrected refractive error among Chinese adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Yue Zhou et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Uncorrected refractive error (URE) is one of the main causes of visual impairments. URE may reduce interaction and learning in the classroom, leading to social isolation, irreversible amblyopia, lack of external knowledge, and restrictions on education and employment opportunities. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence and related factors of URE in adolescents using epidemiological surveys and questionnaire surveys related to lifestyle habits.

Methods: A cross-sectional school-based study was conducted in Nantong, China, including adolescents 12-19 years of age from 16 schools. URE was defined as presenting visual acuity worse than 6/12 and improving to ≥ 1 lines after correction in either eye. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate specific correlations between URE and related lifestyle parameters. Non-cycloplegic autorefraction was assessed for each adolescent.

Results: A total of 2,910 adolescents were analyzed, of which 50.3% (n = 1,465) were male, and 49.7% (n = 1,445) were female. The mean age was 15.23 ± 1.77 years. The overall prevalence of URE was 23.7%. The total prevalence of REC and eREC was 85.1% and 71.7%, respectively, and both of them showed an increasing trend with age (Ptrend = 0.018 and Ptrend = 0.019, respectively). A higher prevalence of URE was related to myopia, anisometropia, and increased daily use of electronic products. Timely visual examination by medical institutions, more extracurricular homework, and older age were protective factors for URE. Among the 689 adolescents with URE, 362 (52.5%) did not receive any refractive correction, and 327 (47.5%) used corrected glasses.

Conclusion: URE was highly prevalent among adolescents in China. Myopia was the most important risk factor for URE. The impact of anisometropia and increased daily use of electronic devices on URE was significant. Timely visual examinations by medical institutions served as an effective protective factor against URE. Further research on adjusting intervention strategies is therefore needed to eliminate preventable visual impairments.

Keywords: Adolescent; Anisometropia; Lifestyle; Myopia; Uncorrected refractive error.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of studied population. PVA: presenting visual acuity; BCVA: best-corrected visual acuity; logMAR: the logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The status of adolescents with or without refractive correction in the population of uncorrected refractive errors sorted by refractive status. Abbreviation: SE: spherical equivalent
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The status of adolescents with or without refractive correction in the uncorrected refractive error population according to diagnostic criteria 2. Abbreviation: SE: spherical equivalent
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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