To evaluate myopia development among primary and secondary school students during the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the development of myopia among students in Shenzhen, China during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The study included 1,472,957 and 1,573,824 students in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The prevalence of myopia was 46.9 and 50.5% in 2019 and 2020, respectively. The prevalence of myopia among students in the former Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (SEZ) was higher than that in areas outside the former Shenzhen SEZ (2019: 47.0 vs. 43.7%; 2020: 50.5 vs. 47.3%). The prevalence of myopia among girls was higher than that among boys (2019: 50.4 vs. 44.0%; 2020: 54.0 vs. 47.6%). The 50th percentile (
The prevalence of myopia among students increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in primary school Grades 2–5.