Protecting children’s vision is a systematic project—a cross-sectional survey on myopia among preschool children in Shantou, China

The visual health of preschool children is of utmost importance in shaping the visual development during school-age years. The preschool period marks a critical phase for vision maturation, with vision impairments potentially leading to inattention, diminished academic performance, and psychological issues, thereby exerting profound impacts on children’s futures. Utilizing a random sampling approach, this study enrolled 4–6 years old preschoolers from a large kindergarten in the main city. A questionnaire, grounded in the “Student Health Status and Influencing Factors Survey (Student Version)” by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, was employed to assess the multifaceted influence of genetics, eye usage patterns, outdoor activity habits, and dietary intake on myopia susceptibility. Screening myopia (noncycloplegic autorefraction) was utilized for vision assessments. Of the 388 valid questionnaires collected, a myopia detection rate of 25.7% was observed, with a significant age-related increase (OR = 4.591, P = 0.018). Notably, factors such as extended outdoor activity time (OR = 0.357, P = 0.005), adequate eye-to-book distance (OR = 0.179, P = 0.064), and proper finger-to-pen-tip distance (OR = 0.279, P = 0.029) correlated with reduced myopia risk. Conversely, insufficient pork liver intake was linked to heightened myopia risk (OR = 4.332, P = 0.001). In the 6 years old group, compared to the 3–5 years old group, myopia was influenced by diverse factors, including 1–2 h of outdoor activities (OR = 0.336, P = 0.009), electronic device usage (OR = 3.152, P = 0.032), and fried food consumption (OR = 4.210, P = 0.04). These findings highlight the importance of genetic factors, eye usage habits, outdoor activities, and diet in the development of myopia. Consequently, preventing myopia is a long-term endeavor that necessitates the collaborative effort of multiple systems.