June 10th is "Children's Eye Day" *! Rohto Pharmaceutical has released its "Children's Eye White Paper 2024."
One in three elementary school students has uncorrected vision of less than 1.0.
More than 60% of children feel that their lives are affected, such as "difficulty seeing the blackboard during class."
Meanwhile, about 80% of parents are not taking measures to maintain their children's eye health.
June 3, 2024
ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka City, President: Masafumi Sugimoto) will release the "Children's Eye White Paper 2024" with the aim of raising awareness of children's eye health. This paper summarizes the results of a survey on children's eyes and methods for maintaining healthy eyes, and will be published annually from now on. This year, coinciding with "Children's Eye Day" on June 10th *, a questionnaire survey was conducted on "Elementary School Students' Eyes." As a result, it was found that 36.7% of elementary school students have uncorrected visual acuity of less than 1.0. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's School Health Statistics Survey, the percentage of children with uncorrected visual acuity of less than 1.0 was 17.91% in 1979, but rose to 37.88% in 2022, more than doubling. Furthermore, while 61.6% of elementary school students responded that their declining uncorrected visual acuity has had some kind of impact on their lives, mainly in school life, such as "difficulty seeing the blackboard during class," it was revealed that 55.2% of parents are unaware of this situation. Furthermore, only 21.2% of parents are taking measures to protect their children's eye health, highlighting the fact that the vast majority of parents are not taking any steps to keep their children's eyes healthy.
* "Children's Eye Day" is a commemorative day established by the Japan Ophthalmology Awareness Conference through the Japan Anniversary Association, with the wish to "nurture 1.0 vision by age 6."
Survey Summary
PART 1: Changes in uncorrected visual acuity in elementary school students
- 36.7% of elementary school students, or more than one in three, have uncorrected visual acuity of less than 1.0.
- 21.8% wear glasses or contact lenses.
- 70% of people wear glasses or contact lenses because they are nearsighted.
PART 2: Eye problems in elementary school children and the gap between parents and children
- 61.6% of people report that their poor uncorrected vision is affecting their daily lives, such as making it difficult to see the blackboard in class.
- On the other hand, 55.2% of parents were unaware of the impact of declining uncorrected vision on their children's lives.
PART 3: Reasons Parents See for Declining Uncorrected Visual Acuity in Elementary School Children
- The number one reason parents believe their child's uncorrected vision is "the amount of time spent using digital devices."
- Children with poor uncorrected vision tend to spend more time using digital devices.
- Children with good uncorrected vision tend to spend more time in outdoor activities.
PART 4: Measures taken to ensure children's healthy eyesight
- Only 21.2% of parents of elementary school children are taking measures to protect their children's healthy eyes.
- The measures include "sleep," "lighting," and "managing time spent on digital devices."
PART 5: Commentary by Ophthalmologist Dr. Matsumura
- Possible reasons for the decline in uncorrected vision include increased time spent using digital devices and decreased time spent playing outdoors.
- Home care includes taking breaks during reading and studying, ensuring adequate lighting and viewing distance, providing time for outdoor play, and managing digital device use.