[A national survey on low vision and blindness of 0 - 6 years old children in China].

OBJECTIVE: To get the prevalence of visual impairment of children in China. The national survey of low vision and blindness of 0 approximately 6 years old children was conducted in China in 2001. METHOD: Stratified, random, cluster, systematic sampling was used to select 60 124 subjects from 360 clusters from 6 provinces in China. The trained doctors examined every individual. RESULT: 64 subjects were defined as visual impairment among the total 60 124 participated subjects in the survey. The total prevalence of visual impairment is 1.1 per thousand. The 20 subjects is blindness and the prevalence is 0.33 per thousand. 44 subjects is low vision and the prevalence is 0.73 per thousand. The major causes of visual impairment are amblyopia (32.8%), retinal and optic nerve diseases (15.6%), congenital cataract (14.1%) and congenital glaucoma (6.3%). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of blindness is close the level of developed country. Amblyopia is the leading cause of all visual impairment. Most causes of visual impairment, amblyopia and congenital cataract are curable.