Effects of physical activity patterns on myopia among children and adolescents: A latent class analysis

Abstract Background The daily physical activity (PA) patterns of children and adolescents are intricate and ambiguous, with varying effects on myopia resulting from different combinations of PA. This study aims to scrutinize the spectrum of PA patterns among children and adolescents and assess their impact on myopia. Methods Data sourced from the 2014 National Student Physical Fitness Survey (Tianjin segment) encompassed PA records and visual acuity measurements of participants. Latent Class Analysis and a generalized linear model were employed to investigate the relationship between PA categories and visual acuity across different educational stages. Results The study comprised 6465 primary and middle school students, among whom 50.13% were male. PA patterns were categorized into high (27.16%), medium (29.88%) and low visual acuity regulation groups (13.97%) and the nonmainstream group (28.99%). Following adjustments for sex, age, region and BMI, the medium visual acuity regulation group exhibited a lower risk of myopia (OR = 0.617, 95% CI = 0.424–0.897, p = 0.012; OR = 0.654, 95% CI = 0.438–0.976, p = 0.038) compared to the nonmainstream group among junior and senior middle school students. Conclusion The efficacy of diverse PA patterns in mitigating myopia risk varies across educational stages and is influenced by sex‐specific factors. It is imperative to advance myopia management strategies by emphasizing tailored PA interventions, discerning between PA patterns and delivering timely guidance and interventions tailored to distinct educational stages and sexes.