Myopia, Spectacle Wear, and Risk of Bicycle Accidents Among Rural Chinese Secondary School Students

This research aimed to study the effect of myopia and spectacle wear on bicycle-related injuries in rural Chinese students. Myopia is common among Chinese students but few studies have examined its effect on daily activities. Data on visual acuity, refractive error, current spectacle wear, and history of bicycle use and accidents during the past 3 years was sought from 1,891 students undergoing eye examinations in rural Guangdong province. Refractive and accident data was available for 1,539 participants (81.3%), among whom the mean age was 14.6 years, 52.5% were girls, 26.8% wore glasses, and 12.9% had myopia of less than –4 diopters in both eyes. More than 90% relied on bicycles to get to school daily. A total of 2,931 accidents were reported by 423 participants, with 68 requiring medical attention. Male sex (odds ratio, 1.55; P < .001) and spectacle wear (odds ratio, 1.38; P = .04) were associated with a higher risk of accident, but habitual visual acuity and myopia were unassociated with the crash risk, after adjusting for age, sex, time spent riding, and risky riding behaviors. These results may be consistent with data on motor vehicle accidents implicating peripheral vision (potentially compromized by spectacle wear) more strongly than central visual acuity in mediating crash risk.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00039950
• Authors:
  • Zhang, Mingzhi
  • Congdon, Nathan
  • Li, Liping
  • Song, Yue
  • Choi, Kai
  • Wang, Yunfei
  • Zhou, Zhongxia
  • Liu, Xiaojian
  • Sharma, Abhishek
  • Chen, Wethong
  • Lam, Dennis S C
• Publication Date: 2009-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 776-783
• Serial:
  • Archives of Ophthalmology
  • Volume: 127
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: American Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0003-9950

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle crashes; Bicycling; Crash types; Cyclists; Rural areas; School children; School trips; Traffic safety; Vision; Visually impaired persons
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01140497
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 22 2009 9:34AM