SynthesisPloS one2022
Systematic review and meta-analysis of myopia prevalence in African school children.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Orthokeratology in controlling myopia of children: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC ophthalmology · 2023Pooled 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
- Epidemiology of Refractive Error in Ghana: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Article
- Knowledge and Practices of South African Optometrists Regarding Childhood Myopia Management.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Relationship Between Scheimpflug-Based Ocular Biomechanics and Myopia Progression in Adolescents.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Agreement and diagnostic accuracy of noncycloplegic retinoscopy, subjective and autorefraction in a young adult Ghanaian population.Ghana medical journal · 2026Article
- An Evaluation of the Retinal Nerve Fibre Layer and Ganglion Cell Layer Thickness in Low Myopes.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Observational
- Prevalence of Myopia in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Malaysian Prevalence Studies.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2026Review
- The global landscape of myopia prevalence and its social determinants in children and adolescents: a cross-regional analysis.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Article
- A longitudinal analysis of myopia progression and its predictors in a Ghanaian clinical cohort.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Refractive error among school-aged children in Bhutan: A secondary analysis of data from nationwide Bhutan School Sight Survey.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Prevalence of high myopia and its associated factors among secondary school students at Finote-selam town, Northwest Ethiopia, 2023.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Visual development cohort study on refractive parameters among preschool children in Sucheng district.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Myopia in Primary School Children in Madrid: A School-Based Cycloplegic Refraction Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Exploration of visual perception metrics as indicators for myopia screening.Lasers in medical science · 2025Article
- Perceptions of Spectacle Use Among Undergraduate Students in Oman: Visual Symptoms, Convenience, and Disadvantages.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- The need to address the myopia pandemic: summary report of the global myopia public health summit 2024.Global health research and policy · 2025Article
- Article
- Influence of dynamic changes of ocular biometric parameters on new-onset myopia in Chinese children: a 4-year cohort study.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Child Myopia Prevalence in Europe: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors at 9 institutions in 7 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeIncreased prevalence of myopia is a major public health challenge worldwide, including in Africa. While previous studies have shown an increasing prevalence in Africa, there is no collective review of evidence on the magnitude of myopia in African school children. Hence, this study reviews the evidence and provides a meta-analysis of the prevalence of myopia in African school children.
methodsThis review was conducted using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five computerized bibliographic databases, PUBMED, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and Africa Index Medicus were searched for published studies on the prevalence of myopia in Africa from 1 January 2000 to 18 August 2021. Studies were assessed for methodological quality. Data were gathered by gender, age and refraction technique and standardized to the definition of myopia as refractive error ≥ 0.50 diopter. A meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the prevalence. Significant heterogeneity was detected among the various studies (I2 >50%), hence a random effect model was used, and sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the effects of outliers.
resultsWe included data from 24 quality assessed studies, covering 36,395 African children. The overall crude prevalence of myopia over the last two decades is 4.7% (95% CI, 3.9-5.7) in African children. Although the prevalence of myopia was slightly higher in females (5.3%, 95%CI: 4.1, 6.5) than in males (3.7%, 95% CI, 2.6-4.7; p = 0.297) and higher in older [12-18 years 5.1% (95% CI, 3.8-6.3) than younger children (aged 5-11 years, 3.4%, 95% CI, 2.5-4.4; p = 0.091), the differences were not significant. There was a significantly lower prevalence of myopia with cycloplegic compared with non-cycloplegic refraction [4.2%, 95%CI: 3.3, 5.1 versus 6.4%, 95%CI: 4.4, 8.4; p = 0.046].
conclusionsOur results showed that myopia affects about one in twenty African schoolchildren, and it is overestimated in non-cycloplegic refraction. Clinical interventions to reduce the prevalence of myopia in the region should target females, and school children who are aged 12-18 years.
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Registered trials
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.