More than half of young Chinese students myopic

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- The prevalence of myopia or nearsightedness among Chinese preschoolers and young students was 52.7 percent in 2020, a health official said at a press conference Tuesday.

It is a rise of 2.5 percentage points from 2019 but still 0.9 percentage points lower than 2018, said Zenawdu Hasayn, an official with the disease control department of the National Health Commission (NHC), quoting a recent national survey.

The rise in myopia rates may be attributed to reduced outdoor activities due to the COVID-19 epidemic last year, the official said.

China conducted a nationwide survey from September to December 2020, covering more than 2.47 million students from 8,604 schools countrywide.

The prevalence of the condition among primary school students rose relatively faster, said Zenawdu Hasayn, who warned of myopia among young kids as a significant problem.

Myopia rates in primary school increased from 12.9 percent in the first grade to 59.6 percent in the sixth grade, said Zenawdu Hasayn. "On average, the myopia rate increased by 9.3 percentage points for each higher grade."

Thus, Zenawdu Hasayn called for strengthened efforts to prevent myopia among students in kindergartens and primary schools.

The official also told the public to remain alert for high myopia levels, noting that 17.6 percent of high school students had high myopia.

However, progression into high myopia has slowed down. The prevalence of high myopia among junior middle school students and high school students logged a decrease of 0.5 percentage points in 2020 from that in 2018, said Zenawdu Hasayn.

Shen Haiping, another NHC official, said the government attaches great importance to youngsters' eye health. The country has included eye care and vision tests for children aged six and below in national public health services, with a coverage rate of 91.8 percent in 2020.

Students and children are also advised to reduce close-range work, increase outdoor activity hours, and have their eyes examined during the upcoming summer vacation.