LINE

Text:AAAPrint
ECNS Wire

One-third of Chinese older than 5 are nearsighted: white paper

1
2016-06-06 12:57Ecns.cn Editor: Mo Hong'e

(ECNS) -- One out of every three Chinese people over the age of five is nearsighted, says a white paper on the visual health of the Chinese population, the first of its kind, unveiled on Sunday, the Beijing Times reported.

According to the white paper, 437 million to 487 million, or 35.16 to 39.21 percent, of the Chinese population aged above five suffer from myopia – with 29 million to 30.4 million, or 2.33 to 2.47 percent, living with a high degree of myopia.

Without effective intervening measures, the percentage of myopia patients above age five is expected to jump to about 51 percent by 2020, it added.

The occurrence of myopia and its harm are irreversible and high myopia could lead to pathological changes in the eye fundus, causing severe and permanent visual impairment, the white paper warned. The disease could also adversely affect future population quality, as it could be inherited and passed on through families.

In addition, prescription lenses are a significant economic burden. In 2012, 232 million to 263 million people above the age of five had them. About 102 million to 117 million new lenses were demanded by myopia patients every year, costing somewhere between 45.45 billion and 53.25 billion yuan, the paper said.

 

  

Related news

MorePhoto

Most popular in 24h

MoreTop news

MoreVideo

News
Politics
Business
Society
Culture
Military
Sci-tech
Entertainment
Sports
Odd
Features
Biz
Economy
Travel
Travel News
Travel Types
Events
Food
Hotel
Bar & Club
Architecture
Gallery
Photo
CNS Photo
Video
Video
Learning Chinese
Learn About China
Social Chinese
Business Chinese
Buzz Words
Bilingual
Resources
ECNS Wire
Special Coverage
Infographics
Voices
LINE
Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.