Prevalence of reduced visual acuity among preschool children in eastern China and comparison at a 5‐year interval

Abstract

IMPORTANCE: Assessing the prevalence of reduced visual acuity and its change over time has significant public health importance. This study evaluated prevalence of reduce visual acuity in children aged 48-60 months, and compared it with previous data. BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported prevalence of reduced visual acuity in preschool children, but none has evaluated prevalence change in the same area. DESIGN: Nanjing Eye Study, a longitudinal population-based study. PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand three hundred eligible children. METHODS: Comprehensive eye examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uncorrected visual acuity, presenting visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity, anterior segment and fundus examination, cycloplegic refraction. RESULTS: Based on the worse and better eye, respectively, 6.8% and 3.5% had reduced uncorrected visual acuity and 4.0% and 1.4% had reduced presenting visual acuity. Compared to rates in the Nanjing Paediatric Vision Project carried out 5 years ago in the same area, the prevalence rates of reduced uncorrected visual acuity were significantly higher (6.8% vs. 5.3%, P = 0.04 for worse eye; 3.5% vs. 2.1%, P = 0.0049 for better eye), but there was no significant increase in rates of reduced presenting visual acuity (4.0% vs. 3.7%, P = 0.63 for better eye; 1.4% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.43 for worse eye). The prevalence rate of glasses prescription is higher in this study (4.5% vs. 3.1%, P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Prevalence of reduced uncorrected visual acuity increased significantly, indicating that Chinese children are faced with more vision-threatening factors. However, more children with refractive errors got appropriate correction.