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Study finds similar myopia prevalence in Chinese children living in Canada, East Asia

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Ethnic Chinese children living in Canada have rates of myopia comparable to children living in urban East Asian countries, according to a study by researchers in Australia.

Desmond Cheng, OD, MSc, FAAO, of the Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, and colleagues determined the rate of myopia in Chinese-Canadian children using refractive data for 1,468 patients at a Canadian optometric practice.

The researchers found the prevalence of myopia of 0.5 D or greater increased from 22.4% at age 6 years to 64.1% at age 12 years. The number of emmetropic children decreased from 68.6% at 6 years to 27.2% at 12 years, and the highest incidence of myopia occurred at 9 and 10 years of age, according to the study.

"In urban East Asian countries, at least 50% to 60% of children by the age of 12 years are myopic," the authors said. "Recent migration of the children and their families to Canada does not appear to lower their myopia risk."

The study is published in the January issue of Optometry and Vision Science.