Citation: Wei S, Sun Y, Li S, et al. Refractive errors in university students in Central China: the Anyang University Students Eye Study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2018;59:4691-4700. https://doi.org/10.1167/ iovs.18-24363
PURPOSE.To assess the prevalence of refractive errors and associated factors in university students in urban areas of Anyang, Central China.METHODS. This is a cross-sectional university-based study of 16-to 26-year-old students in China. Subjects from two universities were invited to undergo a comprehensive eye examination. Cycloplegic refraction was acquired by autorefractor with two drops of 1% cyclopentolate. The prevalence of myopia, high myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and anisometropia was calculated. Only data from right eyes were included in analysis.
RESULTS.A total of 7732 eligible subjects were included, with an average age of 20.2 6 1.4 years. Overall, the mean spherical equivalent (SE) was À2.92 6 2.48 diopters (D). The prevalence of myopia (SE À0.50 D), emmetropia, and hyperopia (SE ‡ þ0.50 D) was 83.2%, 9.5%, and 7.3%, respectively. Female sex (OR ¼ 1.542; P < 0.001) and science and engineering students (OR ¼ 1.219; P ¼ 0.004) were more likely to be myopic. The prevalence of high myopia, defined using SE À5.0 D, À6.0 D, and À10.0 D, respectively, occurred in 20.2%, 11.1 %, and 0.5%. High myopia (SE À6.0 D) was statistically associated with female sex (OR ¼ 1.202; P ¼ 0.029) and younger age (OR ¼ 0.896; P ¼ 0.001). The prevalence of astigmatism (cylinder of À0.75 D) was 28.8%. Astigmatism was associated with male sex (OR ¼ 0.824; P ¼ 0.001) and younger age (OR ¼ 0.925; P ¼ 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS.A prevalence of 83.2% for myopia and 11.1% for high myopia (SE À6.0 D) was found in central Chinese university students. In the future, this generation of university students may encounter long-term, vision-threatening effects, especially pathologic myopia.