One-sixth of Hong Kong preschoolers need corrective glasses, study finds

One-sixth of preschool children in Hong Kong need corrective eyeglasses, according to a recent study by a local non-profit organisation, though most of their parents do not know it.

Warning of the potential for lasting harm if eyesight issues were not addressed early on, the Hong Kong Children Vision Screening and Education Centre (VSEC) on Tuesday said it would be testing the vision of all 170,000 local preschoolers for free over the next 18 months, and called on the government to help it continue to do so in the future.

“Up to 80 per cent of children’s perception of the outside world is through the eyes,” VSEC co-founder Kathy Siu said in a press conference. “If there are problems with their eyes, it will suppress their learning interest, and further hinder their physical and mental development and social ability.”

Over the past academic year, the organisation collaborated with kindergartens across the city to conduct eyesight exams for 4,832 children aged two to six, 779 of whom were found to have at least one type of vision impairment and needed to wear glasses.

Astigmatism was far and away the most prevalent condition, detected in 12.9 per cent of all participants. Myopia, or nearsightedness, and anisometropia – a condition in which the eyes have differing refractive powers – each accounted for around 2 per cent of participants. Squinting and hyperopia, or farsightedness, also accounted for around 1 per cent each.

Citing previous research by Chinese University, VSEC said Hong Kong’s rate of childhood myopia was one of the highest in the world.

Siu said the “vast majority” of the parents of participating children only found out about their vision problems as a result of the study.