PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mu, Liqian
AU  - Qian, Yifeng
TI  - Knowledge and attitude of myopes or their guardians towards refractive surgery in Suzhou, China: a cross-sectional survey
AID  - 10.1136/bmjopen-2024-092125
DP  - 2025 Mar 01
TA  - BMJ Open
PG  - e092125
VI  - 15
IP  - 3
4099  - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/3/e092125.short
4100  - http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/3/e092125.full
SO  - BMJ Open2025 Mar 01; 15
AB  - Background Refractive surgery is gaining widespread popularity; however, there remains a limited understanding of the knowledge and attitudes of myopes regarding these procedures.Objectives To investigate the knowledge and attitudes of myopes or their guardians towards refractive surgery.Design Cross-sectional study.Participants 581 myopes or their guardians in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China, surveyed between August and October 2022.Outcome measures Knowledge and attitude scores before and after refractive surgery, ranging from 0 to 45 and 0 to 36, respectively.Results Postsurgery knowledge (32.35±11.48 vs 27.38±11.74, p<0.001) and attitude (27.77±3.505 vs 26.6±3.267, p<0.001) scores were significantly higher than presurgery scores. Participants showed insufficient knowledge but positive attitudes preoperatively, with significant improvements postoperatively. Factors influencing knowledge scores included education level (Ref. senior middle school or lower; junior college/college, OR=5.81, 95% CI 2.52 to 9.09, p=0.001; postgraduate or higher, OR=7.83, 95% CI 3.83 to 11.8, p<0.001) and survey timing (after refractive error surgery, OR=5.09, 95% CI 3.02 to 7.16, p<0.001), while attitude scores were influenced by knowledge scores (OR=0.05, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.07, p<0.001), gender (female, OR=1.24, 95% CI −2.8–−1.0, p<0.001), age (21–30 years old, OR=−1.9, 95% CI 2.52 to 9.09, p<0.001; >30 years old, OR=−2.5, 95% CI −3.5–−1.4, p<0.001) and survey timing (after refractive error surgery, OR=0.86, 95% CI 0.24 to 1.47, p=0.006).Conclusions Myopes or their guardians had positive attitudes towards refractive surgery both preoperatively and postoperatively. Insufficient knowledge prior to refractive surgery underscores the critical need for informed decision-making before undergoing the procedure.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.