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Myopia prevalence among primary school students across different districts in Guangzhou: insights from a large-scale
Xiaoxiao Zhang1, Junzhe Wang2, Yicui Weng3
1Guangzhou Aier Eye Hospital, Jinan University, No.191, Huanshi Middle Road, Yuexiu District, Guangdong, Guangzhou, 510071, PR China. xzhangc2677@163.com.
Purpose:
To investigate the prevalence of myopia among primary school students in Guangzhou and examine variations by district, grade level, gender, and parental engagement.
Methods:
A total of 173,627 students from Grades 1-6 across 151 schools underwent vision screening between January and June 2024 in three districts of Guangzhou-Yuexiu (central urban core), Panyu (southern urban-rural fringe), and Huadu (northern rapidly urbanizing area). Uncorrected visual acuity and non-cycloplegic autorefraction were measured. Myopia was defined as uncorrected visual acuity < 5.0 and spherical equivalent refraction ≤ - 0.50 D.
Results:
The overall prevalence of myopia was 36.97%. Significant regional differences were observed: 37.67% in Yuexiu, 32.56% in Panyu, and 38.92% in Huadu (p < 0.001). Female students consistently showed higher prevalence than males in all districts (p < 0.001). A clear trend of escalating myopia prevalence with advancing grade level, especially around the transition from lower to upper primary grades. Parental query rates were highest in Panyu (62.13%), followed by Yuexiu (53.34%) and Huadu (47.06%) (p < 0.05).
Conclusion:
District-level disparities in myopia prevalence were identified, underscoring the importance of region-specific considerations in future prevention strategies.
