ABSTRACT [Download PDF] [Read Full Text]
Objective To investigate the myopia progression in Chinese young medical college students and explore the associated risk factors.
Methods A cohort study was conducted.Among 1 068 freshmen aged 16 to 22 years receiving health checkups at a medical university in Tianjin, 979 myopes were ultimately included in the baseline assessment and 812 participated in the follow-up assessment after two years.The anterior segment examination with a slit lamp, non-cycloplegic autorefraction with an autorefractor and axial length (AL) measurements with Lenstar 900 were performed on participants at baseline and during the two-year follow-up.Myopia progression was defined as a spherical equivalent (SE) change of ≤-0.50 D/year or an AL increase of ≥0.20 mm/year.Multivariate regression analysis with the generalized estimating equation model was employed to identify risk factors associated with myopia progression.This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki.The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital (No.2021KY-16).Informed consent was obtained from each subject.
Results During the two-year follow-up, 92.5%(751/812) of the participants had stable SE and 96.1%(764/795) had stable AL.However, 7.5%(61/812) showed SE progression and 3.9%(31/795) exhibited AL growth, demonstrating a tendency of myopia progression.Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that females ( β=0.064, 95% CI: 0.002~0.126; P=0.042) and low to moderate myopia at baseline ( β=0.083, 95% CI: 0.005~0.161; P=0.037) were significantly associated with AL growth compared to high myopia at baseline.
Conclusions More than 92% of young college students have stable myopia.In addition to high myopia, there is still a need for better follow-up and management of females and those with low to moderate myopia to control the high prevalence of high myopia.