Abstract
Background: Sanya is the southernmost city in China and has long sunshine duration and strong ultraviolet radiation intensity. The prevalence of myopia among schoolchildren in Sanya has not yet been reported.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in Sanya conducted by random cluster sampling from November to December 2022. This school-based study included 8 preschools, 8 primary schools and 8 secondary schools.
Students in the senior class of kindergarten (preschool), grade 3 (primary school) or grade 7 (secondary school), with or without myopia were enrolled. All the schools in each of the districts in Sanya were randomly chosen.
Results: A total of 4074 students were enrolled, and the prevalence of myopia was 28.0%. The prevalence of myopia significantly increased with educational stage: 2.8% in preschools, 21.4% in primary schools and 50.1% in secondary schools. Logistic regression analysis revealed that higher education level (odds ratio (OR)=1.513, 95% CI=1.460-1.567), female sex (OR=1.426, 95% CI=1.220-1.666), one-parent myopia (OR=2.085, 95% CI=1.733-2.509), both parents’ myopia (OR=2.800, 95% CI=2.100-3.734) and outdoor time >2 h (OR=0.720, 95% CI=0.623-0.851) were significantly related to myopia.
Conclusions: Due to its unique environmental conditions, the incidence of myopia among school-age children in Sanya was lower than that in most cities in China. Education and the environment were the two main factors affecting school myopia, and education seemed to play a more important role.