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Journal of Peking University (Health Sciences) ›› 2025, Vol. 57 ›› Issue (3): 442-447. doi: 10.19723/j.issn.1671-167X.2025.03.006

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Epidemiological characteristics of myopia and pre-myopia among preschool children aged 5-6 years in ten provinces of China

Mengli TANG1,2, Yang LIU1,2, Ran QIN3, Xin GUO3,4,*(), Hongtian LI1,2,5,*()   

  1. 1. Institute of Reproductive and Child Health/National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproductive Health, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing 100191, China
    2. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing 100191, China
    3. Department of School Health, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing 100013, China
    4. National Institute for Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102200, China
    5. Center for Intelligent Public Health, Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
  • Received:2025-02-08 Online:2025-06-18 Published:2025-06-13
  • Contact: Xin GUO, Hongtian LI
  • Supported by:
    the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC2702102); the Beijing Municipal Health Commission High-level Public Health Technical Talent Development Project(领军人才-01-09)

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Abstract:

Objective: To describe the prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia among preschool children aged 5-6 years in ten provinces or municipalities (hereinafter referred to as province) of China, and to provide a reference for the prevention and control of myopia, and the allocation of related health resources. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to select preschool children aged 5-6 years from 21 cities in 10 provinces (including 8 provinces and 2 municipalities) in China. Cycloplegic autorefraction was conducted. The distribution of myopia and pre-myopia was described using frequencies and percentages. The Chi-square test was used to compare the differences in the prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia between regions with different varying economic development levels and between boys and girls, with a significance level of α=0.05. Results: A total of 12 926 preschool children aged 5-6 years were surveyed. The myopia prevalence was 5.5%, and the overall prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia was 43.4%. Boys had higher rates of myopia and overall prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia than girls (5.7% vs. 5.2%, 46.4% vs. 40.1%), though the difference in myopia prevalence was not statistically significant. Stratified analysis by the province, there was no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of myopia between boys and girls in any province (P>0.05), but in 8 provinces, the prevalence of myopia in boys was slightly higher than in girls. The overall prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia in boys was higher than in girls across all the 10 provinces, with 5 provinces showing statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). The investigated areas were divided into two categories, relatively more-developed areas and relatively less-developed areas, based on per capita gross domestic product (GDP). In 6 provinces, there was no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of myopia between the two categories of areas. In 2 provinces, the prevalence was higher in relatively more-developed areas, and in 2 provinces, it was higher in relatively less-developed areas. In 4 provinces, there was no statistically significant difference in the overall prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia between the two categories of areas with relatively more-developed and relatively less-developed areas. In 3 provinces, the prevalence was higher in relatively more-developed areas, and in 3 provinces, it was higher in relatively less-developed areas. Conclusion: The prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia among preschool children aged 5-6 years is relatively high. Boys show higher overall prevalence of myopia and pre-myopia than girls, but there is no significant difference in the prevalence of myopia. There is no consistent association between the level of economic development and the incidence of myopia and pre-myopia in each province.

Key words: Preschool children, Myopia, Pre-myopia, Mydriatics, Refraction, ocular

CLC Number: 

  • R179

Table 1

prevalence of pre-myopia and myopia among children aged 5-6 in ten provinces or municipalities of China"

Province Sample Pre-myopia Myopia
n % n %
Beijing 971 339 34.9 30 3.1
Shanxi 1 721 1 078 62.6 172 10.0
Liaoning 439 221 50.3 91 20.7
Zhejiang 628 90 14.3 12 1.9
Shandong 954 366 38.4 37 3.9
Henan 711 277 39.0 58 8.2
Hunan 2 952 1 058 35.8 72 2.4
Guangdong 3 224 1 013 31.4 104 3.2
Chongqing 681 232 34.1 23 3.4
Shaanxi 645 234 36.3 109 16.9
Total 12 926 4 908 38.0 708 5.5

Table 2

The prevalence of pre-myopia and myopia among preschool boys and girls aged 5-6 years in ten provinces or municipalities of China"

Province Boys Girls χ2a Pa χ2b Pb Difference (95%CI)a Difference (95%CI)b
Sample Pre-myopia, n (%) Myopia, n (%) Sample Pre-myopia, n (%) Myopia, n (%)
Beijing 510 204 (40.0) 18 (3.5) 461 135 (29.3) 12 (2.6) 0.69 0.40 13.93 < 0.01 0.9 (-1.2, 3.1) 11.6 (5.6, 17.7)
Shanxi 868 552 (63.6) 95 (10.9) 853 526 (61.7) 77 (9.0) 1.76 0.18 3.20 0.07 1.9 (-0.9, 4.7) 3.8 (-0.4, 8.1)
Liaoning 219 115 (52.5) 46 (21.0) 220 106 (48.2) 45 (20.5) 0.02 0.89 1.27 0.26 0.6 (-7.0, 8.1) 4.9 (-3.6, 13.4)
Zhejiang 330 49 (14.8) 8 (2.4) 298 41 (13.8) 4 (1.3) 0.98 0.32 0.54 0.46 1.1 (-1.0, 3.2) 2.2 (-3.6, 7.9)
Shandong 519 228 (43.9) 21 (4.0) 435 138 (31.7) 16 (3.7) 0.09 0.77 15.34 < 0.01 0.4 (-2.1, 2.8) 12.6 (6.4, 18.8)
Henan 376 154 (41.0) 34 (9.0) 335 123 (36.7) 24 (7.2) 0.83 0.36 2.66 0.10 1.9 (-2.1, 5.9) 6.1 (-1.2, 13.5)
Hunan 1 581 613 (38.8) 41 (2.6) 1 371 445 (32.5) 31 (2.3) 0.34 0.56 13.73 < 0.01 0.3 (-0.8, 1.4) 6.6 (3.1, 10.1)
Guangdong 1 752 597 (34.1) 62 (3.5) 1 472 416 (28.3) 42 (2.9) 1.20 0.27 14.93 < 0.01 0.7 (-0.5, 1.9) 6.5 (3.2, 9.8)
Chongqing 363 136 (37.5) 11 (3.0) 318 96 (30.2) 12 (3.8) 0.29 0.59 3.09 0.08 -0.7 (-3.5, 2.0) 6.5 (-0.7, 13.8)
Shaanxi 351 144 (41.0) 57 (16.2) 294 90 (30.6) 52 (17.7) 0.24 0.63 5.17 0.02 -1.4 (-7.3, 4.4) 9.0 (1.3, 16.7)
Total 6 869 2 792 (40.7) 393 (5.7) 6 057 2 116 (34.9) 315 (5.2) 1.69 0.19 50.88 < 0.01 0.5 (-0.3, 1.3) 6.2 (4.5, 7.9)

Table 3

Prevalence of pre-myopia and myopia among preschool children aged 5-6 years in areas with different economic development levels in ten provinces or municipalities of China"

Province Relatively more-developed areas Relatively less-developed areas χ2a Pa χ2b Pb Difference (95%CI)a Difference (95%CI)b
Sample Pre-myopia, n (%) Myopia, n (%) Sample Pre-myopia, n (%) Myopia, n (%)
Beijing 86 31 (36.0) 7 (8.1) 885 308 (34.8) 23 (2.6) 8.04 < 0.01 1.53 0.22 5.5 (-0.3, 11.4) 6.8 (-4.2, 17.8)
Shanxi 237 99 (41.8) 7 (3.0) 1 484 979 (66.0) 165 (11.1) 15.15 < 0.01 107.68 < 0.01 -8.2 (-10.8, -5.5) -32.4 (-39.0, -25.7)
Liaoning 203 113 (55.7) 48 (23.6) 236 108 (45.8) 43 (18.2) 1.95 0.16 12.47 < 0.01 5.4 (-2.2, 13.1) 15.3 (7.0, 23.6)
Zhejiang 214 34 (15.9) 6 (2.8) 414 56 (13.5) 6 (1.4) 1.38 0.24 1.43 0.23 1.4 (-1.1, 3.8) 3.7 (-2.5, 10.0)
Shandong 359 144 (40.1) 13 (3.6) 595 222 (37.3) 24 (4.0) 0.10 0.75 0.52 0.47 -0.4 (-2.9, 2.1) 2.4 (-4.1, 8.9)
Henan 378 112 (29.6) 15 (4.0) 333 165 (49.5) 43 (12.9) 18.91 < 0.01 59.20 < 0.01 -8.9 (-13.0, -4.8) -28.9 (-35.9, -21.8)
Hunan 1 559 617 (39.6) 42 (2.7) 1 393 441 (31.7) 30 (2.2) 0.90 0.34 22.28 < 0.01 0.5 (-0.6, 1.6) 8.5 (5.0, 11.9)
Guangdong 1 815 540 (29.8) 51 (2.8) 1 409 473 (33.6) 53 (3.8) 2.30 0.13 7.97 < 0.01 -1.0 (-2.2, 0.3) -4.8 (-8.1, -1.4)
Chongqing 345 108 (31.3) 15 (4.3) 336 124 (36.9) 8 (2.4) 2.02 0.16 0.96 0.33 2.0 (-0.7, 4.7) -3.6 (-10.9, 3.6)
Shaanxi 324 142 (43.8) 97 (29.9) 321 92 (28.7) 12 (3.7) 78.82 < 0.01 110.82 < 0.01 26.2 (20.8, 31.6) 41.4 (34.4, 48.4)
Total 5 520 1 940 (35.1) 301 (5.5) 7 406 2 968 (40.1) 407 (5.5) 0.01 0.92 31.84 < 0.01 -0.0 (-0.8, 0.8) -5.0 (-6.7, -3.3)
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