Second-child Policy and Incidence of Infant Eye Diseases in China

Abstract Purpose To explore the influence of parental factors associated with the second-child policy on the incidence of ophthalmic diseases in infants. Methods Data were collected on children (aged < 3 years) admitted to Qingdao Eye Hospital, China, from January 2017 to December 2019, and patients with a family history of eye illnesses were excluded. We recorded the age, sex, diagnosis, mother’s history, age of the mother at birth, and parents’ education and the same values for all siblings. Results A total of 383 children (aged < 3 years) were admitted to the Qingdao Eye Hospital. There were also 159 siblings for a total of 541 children from 383 families. There were 229 single-child families and 154 multiple-child families. Among all the children involved in the study, the prevalence of ophthalmic diseases was 62.2% in the oldest child, 90.8% in the second, and 100% in the third. Among all 154 multiple-child families, the prevalence of ophthalmic diseases was 6.5% in the oldest child, 90.8% in the second child, and 100% in the third child. Parent’s age at the time of the child’s birth was not found to be related to whether the child had an eye disease for any of the children in this study. But the parents’ highest level of educational level was associated with a lower chance of any eye disease. Conclusion Parity affects the prevalence of ocular disease in children. Strengthening fertility education and raising maternity security may help reduce the prevalence of eye diseases in children.