SynthesisJournal of global health2021
Prevalence and time trends of refractive error in Chinese children: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Journal of global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 62 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of myopia in Chinese children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Prevalence of clinically significant refractive error in children in Europe: Systematic review and meta-analysis.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Regional variations and temporal trends of childhood myopia prevalence in Africa: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2022Pooled it
- Impact of COVID-19 on refractive amblyopia risk factors in 5-years-old children: A nationwide cross sectional study.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Trend of Myopia Incidence Among Adolescents (2018-2025) in Senior High School: An 8-Year Retrospective Study in Multi-Regions of China, With Projections to 2030.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- EED-Astig: A Multimodal Dataset for Pediatric Astigmatism Severity Prediction.Scientific data · 2026Article
- Characterisation and risk factors of astigmatism among children and adolescents aged 3-20 years in Northwestern China.Journal of global health · 2026Article
- The association between maternal blood lipid trajectory and offspring preschool myopia in prospective and nested case‒control analyses.Lipids in health and disease · 2026Article
- Visual development cohort study on refractive parameters among preschool children in Sucheng district.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Spherical Equivalent Percentile Curves in a Portuguese School-Aged Population.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Association of nutritional intake with myopia and astigmatism.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Child Myopia Prevalence in Europe: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Myopia and high myopia trends in Chinese children and adolescents over 25 years: a nationwide study with projections to 2050.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Article
- Prevalence and temporal trends in myopia and high myopia children in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis with projections from 2020 to 2050.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2025Article
- Uncorrected refractive errors, visual impairment and need for spectacles among children and adolescents in eastern, China.PloS one · 2025Article
- Exploring the Prevalence and Biological Features of Astigmatism in Primary School Children in Zibo City, China.Journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Incidence of eye problems in children aged 3-6 years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- The Systemic Genotype-Phenotype Characterization of PAX6-Related Eye Disease in 164 Chinese Families.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2024Article
- Characteristics of astigmatism in school-age children aged 5 to 13 years in northeast Sichuan: a cross-sectional school-based study.Translational pediatrics · 2024Article
- Socioeconomic disparities and green space associated with myopia among Chinese school-aged students: A population-based cohort study.Journal of global health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTo investigate the prevalence and time trends of refractive error (RE) among Chinese children under 18 years old.
methodsPubMed, Embase, Web of Science were searched for articles that estimated prevalence of RE in Chinese children. Data of identified eligible studies was extracted by two investigators independently. Pooled prevalence of RE and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and the time trends of RE were investigated using Meta-analysis methods.
resultsOf the 41 studies covering 1 051 784 subjects, the pooled prevalence of myopia, high myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism in Chinese children was 38.0% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 35.1%-41.1%), 2.8% (95% CI = 2.3%-3.4%), 5.2% (95% CI = 3.1%-8.6%) and 16.5% (95% CI = 12.3%-21.8%), respectively. Subgroup analysis show that children living in urban were at higher risk of RE. Prevalence of myopia and hyperopia were higher in Northern China compared with Southern China and high myopia and astigmatism were higher in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan than in mainland China. Regression analysis showed an upward trend in myopia and hyperopia and a downward trend in high myopia and astigmatism with years.
conclusionsThe prevalence of RE is higher in urban areas than in rural for Chinese children. The much higher prevalence of myopia and astigmatism in China compared with foreign countries indicates the important role played by environment and genetic factors. Considering the large magnitude of refractive errors, much more attention should still be paid to RE prevention and treatment strategy development in China.
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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.