Research findings have shown that visual impairment associates with mental illness such as depression and anxiety among children, especially when refractive errors remain uncorrected. A recent study published in Scientific Reports by Pang and colleagues explored the relationship between visual impairment, academic performance, and mental health among junior high school students in rural China.
The research involved a random sample of 19,425 seventh and eighth grade students from 124 schools in rural Ningxia, northwest China. Data on students’ visual acuity, eyeglasses usage, academic performance (via standardised math test), and mental health (using SDQ) were gathered in the last quarter of 2019. The key findings included:
- Of the students, 37.2% had visual impairment, 56.6% of whom did not wear glasses. About 9% of the total sample were at high risk for mental health problems based on SDQ scores.
- Visual impairment students wearing glasses were less likely to experience mental health problem compared to those with normal vision, while those without glasses were more likely to have mental health problems.
- Visual impaired students without glasses exhibited significantly poorer mental health compared to both their peers who wore glasses and those with normal vision. However, there was no significant difference in mental health between visually impaired students with glasses and those with normal vision.
- Among visually impaired students, high math performance students who wore glasses reported better mental health than those without eyeglasses. For low math performance students, there was no significant relationship between eyeglasses usage and mental health. In addition, eyeglasses usage positively influenced students’ aspirations for higher education, regardless of academic performance.
The study highlights the importance of providing eyeglasses to visually impaired students to improve their mental health. It suggests that interventions and policies should focus on supplying eyeglasses to enhance students’ overall well-being in low-income rural settings.
Source (Open Access): Pang, X., Wang, H., Qian, Y., Zhu, S., Hu, Y. A., Rozelle, S., Congdon, N., & Jiang, J. (2024). The association between visual impairment, educational outcomes, and mental health: Insights from eyeglasses usage among junior high school students in rural China. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 24244. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-72119-2