Prevalence of Visual Impairment Among Students Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Findings From 1,057,061 Individuals in Guangzhou, Southern China

Bibliometric analysis of hotspots and trends of global myopia research

AIM

To gain insights into the global research hotspots and trends of myopia.

METHODS

Articles were downloaded from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2022 from the Science Core Database website and were mainly statistically analyzed by bibliometrics software.

RESULTS

A total of 444 institutions in 87 countries published 4124 articles. Between 2013 and 2022, China had the highest number of publications (n=1865) and the highest H-index (61). Sun Yat-sen University had the highest number of publications (n=229) and the highest H-index (33). Ophthalmology is the main category in related journals. Citations from 2020 to 2022 highlight keywords of options and reference, child health (pediatrics), myopic traction mechanism, public health, and machine learning, which represent research frontiers.

CONCLUSION

Myopia has become a hot research field. China and Chinese institutions have the strongest academic influence in the field from 2013 to 2022. The main driver of myopic research is still medical or ophthalmologists. This study highlights the importance of public health in addressing the global rise in myopia, especially its impact on children's health. At present, a unified theoretical system is still needed. Accurate surgical and therapeutic solutions must be proposed for people with different characteristics to manage and intervene refractive errors. In addition, the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) models are also reflected in disease monitoring and prediction.

Secular trends in the prevalence of meeting 24-hour movement guidelines among U.S. adolescents: evidence from NHANES 2007-2016

Background

The 24-Hour Movement Guidelines (24-HMG) recommend a balanced combination of physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior (SB) and sleep (SLP) for optimal health. However, there is limited understanding of how well U.S. adolescents adhere to these guidelines. This study aims to analyze the prevalence trends of meeting the 24-HMG among a nationally representative sample of U.S. general adolescents.

Methods

The study included 2,273 adolescents (55.3% boys) aged 16-19 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) from 2007 to 2016. The researchers categorized the adolescents based on whether they met various PA, SB, and SLP recommendations, as well as different combinations of these recommendations, separately for boys and girls. The prevalence rate, weighted by survey data, was calculated along with a 95% confidence interval (CI) to assess the changes in meeting the 24-HMG among U.S. adolescents across different survey years and sociodemographic subgroups.

Results

In the 2015-2016 cycle, approximately 6.3% of adolescents did not meet any of the three recommendations, while only 19.2% of adolescents achieved all three guidelines. Compliance with PA and SB recommendations among adolescents has decreased over time, from 72.5% (65.9% to 79.2%) to 64.2% (57.4% to 70.9%) for PA, and from 59.0% (49.6% to 68.4%) to 46.6% (37.8% to 55.5%) for SB, respectively, from 2007-2008 cycle to 2015-2016 cycle. Boys exhibited more favorable patterns in meeting different sets of recommendations compared to girls (p-value <0.001). This includes meeting both PA and SB guidelines (15.5% for boys and 11.1% for girls) and meeting both PA and SLP guidelines (19.5% for boys and 15.7% for girls). The level of parental education was found to have effect on meeting all three guidelines (Ptrend < 0.05).

Conclusion

We analyzed ten consecutive years of representative NHANES data to evaluate the prevalence meeting 24-HMG and found that the proportion of adolescents aged 16-19 in the U.S. who adhered to all three movement guidelines simultaneously has consistently remained low throughout each survey cycle. Notably, there has been a significant decline in the proportion of adolescents meeting the SB guideline.

Prevalence and causes of blindness and distance visual impairment in Chinese adult population in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study aims to investigate the prevalence and causes of visual impairment (VI) and blindness in Jiangsu Province, China in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (n = 13,208, aged 18-93) underwent comprehensive ocular examinations. The prevalence and causes of binocular VI (presenting visual acuity [VA] ≥ 20/400 and < 20/63 in the better eye) and blindness (presenting VA < 20/400 in the better eye) were assessed according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The estimation of refractive error prevalence was conducted using the following classification: myopia ≤  - 0.50 diopters (D), high myopia ≤  - 6.00 D, hyperopia ≥ 0.50 D, and anisometropia ≥ 1.00 D. The overall prevalence of binocular VI and blindness was 21.04% (95% confidence interval [CI] 20.35-21.74%) and 0.47% (95% CI 0.37-0.60%). The highest prevalence of binocular VI was in the population aged 18-24 years old (46.29%, [95% CI 44.30-48.28%]), those with education at university and above (43.47%, [95% CI 41.93-45.02%]), students (54.96%, [95% CI 52.73-57.17%]). Uncorrected refractive error (URE) was the leading cause of presenting binocular VI (93.40%) and blindness (50.79%). The prevalence of myopia was 54.75% (95% CI 53.90-55.60%). Actions are needed to control URE and myopia within the adult Chinese population, with a particular emphasis on the younger, well-educated demographic.

Artificial intelligence technology for myopia challenges: A review

Myopia is a significant global health concern and affects human visual function, resulting in blurred vision at a distance. There are still many unsolved challenges in this field that require the help of new technologies. Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is dominating medical image and data analysis and has been introduced to address challenges in the clinical practice of many ocular diseases. AI research in myopia is still in its early stages. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each AI method in specific tasks of myopia could be of great value and might help us to choose appropriate approaches for different tasks. This article reviews and elaborates on the technical details of AI methods applied for myopia risk prediction, screening and diagnosis, pathogenesis, and treatment.

Temporal and spatial characterization of myopia in China

Purpose

The aim of this study was to characterize the temporal and spatial distribution of myopia among students aged 7-18 years, by analyzing the aggregation area and providing the basis for the prevention and control of myopia in China.

Methods

A database for the spatial analysis of myopia in China during 1995-2014 was established using ArcGIS10.0 software as a platform for data management and presentation. A spatial autocorrelation analysis of myopia was undertaken, and a temporal and spatial scan analysis was performed using SaTScan9.5 software.

Results

Our data demonstrated that the prevalence of myopia in China in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2014 was 35.9, 41.5, 48.7, 57.3, and 57.1%, respectively, thus indicating a gradual upward trend. The prevalence of myopia was analyzed in various provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions), and the highest was found in Jiangsu Province, with an average Moran's I index of 0.244295 in China (P ≤ 0.05). According to the local Moran's I autocorrelation analysis, there was a spatial aggregation of myopia prevalence among students in the entire country, with Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Shanghai being classified as high-high aggregation areas, while Hainan and Guangxi were classified as low-low aggregation areas. In addition, the Getis-Ord General G results of the global hotspot analysis showed a countrywide myopia prevalence index of 0.035020 and a Z score of 1.7959 (P = 0.07251). Because the myopia prevalence correlation difference was not statistically significant, there were no "positive hotspots" or "negative hotspots." The local hotspot analysis shows that Shandong and Jiangsu belong to high-value aggregation areas, while Hainan and Guizhou belong to low-value aggregation areas. Further analysis using time-space scanning showed 15 aggregation regions in five stages, with four aggregation regions having statistically significant differences (P ≤ 0.05). However, the aggregation range has changed over time. Overall, from 1995 to 2014, the aggregation areas for the myopia prevalence in Chinese students have shifted from the northwest, north, and northeast regions to the southeast regions.

Conclusion

Our data demonstrate that, from 1995 to 2014, the prevalence of myopia increased in students aged 7-18 years in China. In addition, the prevalence of myopia is randomly distributed in various provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) and exhibits spatial aggregation. Also, the gathering area is gradually shifting to the southeast, with the existence of high-risk areas. It is, therefore, necessary to focus on this area and undertake targeted prevention and control measures.