Myopia in Singapore kindergarten children

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine whether close-up work was related to myopia in Singapore kindergarten children. Methods: One hundred twenty-eight children, ages 3 to 7 years, from a kindergarten in Singapore were examined by cycloplegic autorefraction. The parents also completed a questionnaire on the different types of close-up work activities each child was engaged in, socioeconomic status, and parental history of myopia. Results: Myopic children spent 3.0 hours per day (median) on close-up work activity, while nonmyopic children spent 2.0 hours per day (median) on close-up work activity. The prevalence of myopia in the sample was 8.6%. Conclusion: Close-up work activity was not related to myopia in pre-school children.