Refractive and corneal astigmatism in Chinese 4–15 years old children: prevalence and risk factors

Abstract Background To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of refractive astigmatism (RA) and corneal astigmatism (CA) in preschool children and school-aged children in Shanghai, China. Methods In this school-based, cross-sectional study, 4–15 years old children across three learning stages of kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school underwent noncycloplegic autorefraction and completed comprehensive questionnaires involving time spent on daily homework and outdoor activities. Data from the right eyes were analysed. Results Overall, 7084 children (mean ± standard deviation (SD) of age: 8.08 ± 3.11 years) were included, and the prevalence rates of RA/CA ( ≤ − 1.0 D) in children were 15.8%/64% in kindergartens, 16.5%/65% in primary schools, and 32.8%/76.9% in junior high schools. The magnitude and prevalence of RA and CA all increased with age or with learning stage (all P