Abstract:

Objective: To know the prevalence of students' poor eyesight and its changes from 1991 to 2010 in Dali Prefecture and
to provide evidence for prevention and control measures. Methods: On the basis of the "Manual of National Survey of Student's
Physical Health", primary and middle school students' uncorrected visual acuity was tested respectively in the year of 1991, 2000,
2005 and 2010. Results: The poor eyesight rate increased irrespective of student's ethnicity and gender, and the rate worsened with
increasing year as well as with the increase of grade. The average unhealthy rates of sight for Bai boys in the primary school, junior
high and senior high schools were 15.48%, 31,06%, and 49.26% respectively, compared to those of 20.05%, 38.83%, and 58.61% for
Bai girls. The average unhealthy rates of sight for Han boys in the primary school, junior high and senior high schools were 23.07%,
52.89%, and 69.47% respectively, and 28.61%, 63.00%, 77.58% for Han girls. The unhealthy rate of sight for Han girls in urban and
rural areas was higher than that for Han boys (The poor eyesight rate for boys in the primary school has no statistic significance). The
unhealthy rate of sight for Bai girls in primary school was moderate in degree, and severe in degree for the rest. Myopia prevailed
among students of Han and Bai nationalities, while the rate of high degree visual impairment for Han students was higher than that for
Bai students. Conclusion: The poor eyesight rate, with the prevalence of high degree of visual impairment and myopia, worsened
among students in Dali Prefecture. Attention should be paid to this.

Key words: students, poor eyesight, cause analysis