Purpose: To investigate the prevalence and related factors for myopia in school-aged children in the Economic and Technological Development Zone of Qingdao, Eastern China.
Methods: A total of 4890 (aged 10 to 15 years) students were initially enrolled in this study. 3753 (76.75%) students with completed refractive error and questionnaire data were analyzed. The children underwent a comprehensive eye examination. Multiple logistic regression models were applied to assess possible factors associated with myopia.
Results: The prevalence of myopia increased as the children's grade increased (χ2 = 560.584, P < 0.001). Low myopia was the main form of myopia in adolescent students (30.22%). With the growth of age, students spent significantly more time on near work (P = 0.03) and less time on outdoor activity (P < 0.001). In multivariate models, only the following variables were significantly associated with myopia: age, two myopic parents, outdoor activity time, and continuous near work without 5 min rest.
Conclusions: The prevalence of myopia increased as the grade increased. Age, two myopic parents, and continuous near work time without 5 min rest were risk factors for myopia. Outdoor activities had protective effect for myopia.