China Releases Guidelines on Myopia Prevention And Control

As many as 51.9 percent of children and minors in China have myopia, with an increasing number of younger children being diagnosed with the condition, necessitating a greater need to delay the beginning and slow its growth.

Because preventing or delaying the onset of myopia can have a greater influence on children's myopia outcomes than the results of myopia control treatments, China released its first health industry standard on hyperopic reserve, which protects against myopia development, on Wednesday in Shanghai.

This metric serves as a crucial indicator that underscores the need for a stronger focus on preventing myopia in children, rather than relying solely on treatment after the condition has developed. Specialists from the Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention and Control Center, which worked in collaboration with leading hospitals and research institutes nationwide to establish the standard, emphasize this point.

The guidelines clarify hyperopic reserve data for children of various ages and provide worrisome data that parents should raise awareness and take their children for more outside activities, as well as adequate intervention measures under the supervision of medical specialists, according to He Xiangui from the center.

Dong Bin of the National Disease Control and Prevention Standard Commission's school health standard commission stated that the new standard fills a gap in eye health and early myopia prevention by providing clear evaluation data that shifts the focus from whether a child has myopia to whether a child is at risk of myopia.

"The standard gives clear checking methods, evaluation standards, and proper processes to help establish a scientific and standard vision screening and judgment system, supporting medical facilities, disease control and prevention centers, schools, and relevant departments to carry out effective monitoring, warning, and intervention on children with insufficient hyperopic reserves," he pointed out. "It is really an improvement in effectively preventing and controlling."

According to local specialists, the average hyperopic reserve data for 6-year-old children in Shanghai is lower than the national standard, while the pre-myopia detection rate among local children aged 6 to 8 is up to 42.6 percent.

Pre-myopia patients have a 30 percent chance of acquiring myopia within a year and a 60 percent chance within two years.

Experts recommend that parents and schools guarantee that children engage in at least two hours of outdoor activity every day, enhance lighting conditions, and limit children's exposure to digital displays.