Purpose: To observe the refractive status,.especially the ten-dency for evolution of high myopia,.in eyes of Chinese school children from Xi'an city.
Methods:.The study was conducted in 11514 eyes of the 5757 students aged between 7~18 years in Xi’an city primary and high schools..The inclusion criterion was>-6D of the spherical equivalent refraction..The object ophthalmic examinations were done, included non-cycloplegic objective refraction, vi-sual acuity,.intraocular pressure,.fundus evaluation by oph-thalmologists and nurses with professional training..Specially designed questionnaires were filled in and the data were statis-tically analyzed with SPSS10.0.
Results:.Of 11514 eyes,.the detection rate was 81.4% (9376 eyes) for myopia and 5.3%(615 eyes) for high myopia. High myopia was found in 2.6%. (300 eyes).of right eyes,.2.7%(315 eyes) in left eyes, and 2.4% (275 eyes) were in boys and 2.9% (340 eyes) in girls. Among 12 school grades,.the detection rates of high myopia increased significantly with stu-dent age,.with 0.9% in the 1st grade of primary school and 12.5% in the 3rd year of senior middle school..The average refractive error of spherical equivalent refraction was (-7.43± 1.29) D with 95% confidence interval (-7.54,-7.33). No sig-nificant differences were found between the right and left eyes or both genders..The distribution of myopic severity was low-est(-6D).in primary school students younger than 12 years, was higher (-8D) in junior middle school students older than 13 years, and highest (-13D) in senior middle school students. Conclusion: A continuous growth was evident in the severity of high myopia throughout 12 years of primary and middle school except for the first year of primary school, with growth occurring in two transitional stages between the senior primary and junior middle school years,.and between the junior and senior middle school years..The distribution of high myopia was lowest,.at -6D,.in primary school,.increased to -8D in junior middle school, and progressed to-10D in senior middle school,.indicating a high risk of development of pathologic myopia during the students' later lifespan. The adolescent pe-riod of 13 to 18 years of age in middle school is a critical pe-riod for the development of pathological myopia over -8D. (Eye Science 2014; 29:36-42).

Background: Upper arm composition is a reflection of body protein and calorie reserves. However, there is a paucity of data on upper arm composition of children from African countries, including Nigeria. This study aimed to determine the composition of upper arm and nutritional status of school children in Abeokuta, Nigeria and to compare with international reference standards. The sensitivity and specifi city of upper arm muscle area by height (UAMAH) as a nutritional assessment tool was also determined.
Methods: Five hundred and seventy children aged 5 to 19 years were selected from seven schools using multistage random sampling. Weight, height, mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) and triceps skin fold thickness (TSF) were measured. Body mass index, upper arm muscle area (UAMA), upper arm fat area (UAFA), fat percentage and UAMAH were derived.
Results: The TSF, UAFA and fat percentage were significantly higher in females than males at each age group. MUAC and UAMA were significantly higher in female children aged 10-14 years, whereas UAMA was significantly higher in male children aged 15-19 years. UAMA and UAFA of the children were lower than those of Americans but similar to those of Zimbabweans, and higher than those of Indians. The sensitivity and specifi city of UAMAH for detecting wasting were 80.8% and 63.9%, respectively, whereas the corresponding values for stunting were 32.2% and 58.2%, respectively.
Conclusions: The school children studied have a combination of poor calorie and protein reserve. UAMAH may be a valuable tool for complete evaluation of the nutritional status of school children.