Prevalence of spectacles use and full correction among myopic students of urban and rural primary schools in Anhui province

  Objective   To analyze the status of spectacles use and full correction among myopic students in primary schools in Anhui province and to provide references for myopia prevention and control.

  Methods  The data on 13 329 myopic pupils were extracted from the Surveillance on Common Diseases and Health-Related Factors in Students; the surveillance was conducted during September - October 2019 among 41 413 students in 69 primary schools selected with multistage cluster sampling in Anhui province. The myopic pupils′ spectacles use and full correction were analyzed.

  Results  Among all the myopic students, the prevalence rate of spectacles use was 25.19%; the prevalence rate was significantly higher in the myopic girls than in the myopic boys (25.84% vs. 24.53%, χ² = 3.014; P = 0.083) and the prevalence rate was also significantly higher in the urban students than in the rural students (27.82% vs. 22.51%, χ² = 50.027; P < 0.001); the myopic students′ spectacles use increased significantly with the students′ schooling grade, with the prevalence rates of 5.88%, 9.60%, 15.91%, 22.65%, 29.01%, and 36.14% for the myopic students of grade one to grade six (χ² = 673.017, P < 0.001). Among the myopic students with spectacles use, the full correction rate of the boy students was significantly higher than that of the girl students (55.56% vs. 49.14%, χ² = – 13.845; P < 0.001); no significant difference in full correction rate was observed among the spectacles-wearing students living in different regions and studying at various grade. The results of logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the myopic students with following characteristics were more likely to use spectacles: living in an urban region (versus rural region: odds ratio OR = 1.359, 95% confidence interval 95% CI: 1.235 – 1.496) and studying at a grade higher than one (grade 2: OR = 1.651, 95% CI: 1.101 – 2.475; grade 3 OR = 2.604, 95% CI: 1.805 – 3.756; grade 4 OR = 3.600, 95% CI: 2.528 – 5.125; grade 5 OR = 4.439, 95% CI = 3.138 – 6.280; and grade 6 OR = 7.003, 95% CI: 4.965 – 9.878).

  Conclusion  The prevalence of spectacles use and full correction rate are quite low among primary school students with myopia in Anhui province. There are urban-rural and between schooling grade difference in the spectacles use of the myopic students and more attention should be paid to myopia correction of the rural myopic students.