Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33075102›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2020

Prevalence of myopia in Indian school children: Meta-analysis of last four decades.

Divya Agarwal, Rohit Saxena, Vivek Gupta, Kalaivani Mani, Rebika Dhiman, Amit Bhardawaj, Praveen Vashist

Open access · goldAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
36citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
4.9field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

36 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 67 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Urban-Rural and School-Type Disparities in the Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia in South India.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
    Article
  5. Gender and Refractive Error Stratified Ocular Biometry Percentile Curves in Indian School Children.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026
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  10. Observational
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  15. Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Divya AgarwalDepartment of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Rohit SaxenaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0002-8660-8062
Vivek GuptaDepartment of Community Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Kalaivani ManiDepartment of Biostatistics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Rebika DhimanDepartment of Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.ORCID 0000-0001-9988-4835
Amit BhardawajDepartment of Community Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Praveen VashistDepartment of Community Ophthalmology, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
All India Institute of Medical Sciences · IN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIndia is the second most populated country in the world with 41% of the population (492 million) under 18 years of age. While numerous studies have shown an increasing prevalence of myopia worldwide, there continues to be uncertainty about the magnitude of myopia in Indian school going population.

designSystematic review and meta-analysis.

methodsWe systematically identified published literature of last four decades from 1980 to March 2020 and assessed them for methodological quality. Data were gathered into 5-year age groups from 5-15, in urban or rural populations, and standardized to definition of myopia as refractive error ≥ -0.50 dioptre. Random effects meta-analysis was done.

resultsWe included data from 59 quality assessed studies, covering nearly 1,66,000 urban and 1,20,000 rural children. The overall crude prevalence of myopia over last four decades is 7.5% (95% CI, 6.5-8.5%) in 5-15-year age group. The prevalence of myopia is 8.5% (95% CI, 7.1-9.9%) in urban and 6.1% (95% CI, 4.5-7.7%) in rural children, with highest prevalence in urban 11-15-year age group [15.0% in last decade]. A significant increment in prevalence is noted in the last decade in rural children from 4.6% to 6.8%, reflecting changing rural environment.

conclusionMyopia is an emerging public health problem in both urban and rural school going adolescents in India requiring urgent efforts.

Indexed as

AdolescentChildChild, PreschoolHumansMyopiaPrevalenceRural PopulationUrban Population

Identifiers

PMID33075102
PMCPMC7571694
OpenAlexW3092897237

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.