(ECNS) -- One out of every three Chinese people over the age of five is nearsighted, says a white paper on the visual health of the Chinese population, the first of its kind, unveiled on Sunday, the Beijing Times reported.
According to the white paper, 437 million to 487 million, or 35.16 to 39.21 percent, of the Chinese population aged above five suffer from myopia ? with 29 million to 30.4 million, or 2.33 to 2.47 percent, living with a high degree of myopia.
Without effective intervening measures, the percentage of myopia patients above age five is expected to jump to about 51 percent by 2020, it added.
The occurrence of myopia and its harm are irreversible and high myopia could lead to pathological changes in the eye fundus, causing severe and permanent visual impairment, the white paper warned. The disease could also adversely affect future population quality, as it could be inherited and passed on through families.
In addition, prescription lenses are a significant economic burden. In 2012, 232 million to 263 million people above the age of five had them. About 102 million to 117 million new lenses were demanded by myopia patients every year, costing somewhere between 45.45 billion and 53.25 billion yuan, the paper said.
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