Eyes front: university finds Hong Kong has highest levels of vision problem astigmatism in world
- One in five children in Hong Kong suffer from condition, which causes blurred vision at all distances, and which can worsen if left untreated
- Chinese University says figures higher among adults, with 70 per cent having some degree of astigmatism
One in five children in Hong Kong has moderate to severe levels of the eyesight problem astigmatism, the highest prevalence in the world, a university has found, with researchers saying the condition was probably inherited from their parents.
Astigmatism is a common eye condition where the vision is blurred at all distances. It happens when the patient’s cornea is more curved than usual, which prevents light entering the eye from converging at a single focal point.
Elon Wan Ching-yin, seven, was sent for a check-up in mid-2021 after his father noticed he could not form characters properly. He was diagnosed with severe astigmatism, with less than 40 per cent of normal vision.
Elon’s left eye was also found to be amblyopic – where an eye’s signals to the brain are not received properly, so the other one compensates, which leads to further deterioration in the weaker of the two.