Myopia Resources

A landmark study published in 2015 by the National Institutes of Health confirmed a startling increase in myopia among American children. The Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) Study, offers an in-depth look at myopia and its increasing prevalence among children around the world.

Another supporting article, The Myopic Boom, examines the role that genetics, ethnicity, outdoor time and screen time have on children’s vision.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology discusses the effects of outdoor time on myopia in children in this article. Researchers believe spending more time outdoors may reduce a child’s risk of developing myopia. This is especially important if your family has a history of myopia (nearsightedness).

In 2019, a Vision Report released by the World Health Organization named the global rise in myopia as a major public health issue that requires more resources. As research develops we are going to see studies published that illustrate how the COVID-19 Pandemic has accelerated myopia worldwide. In our practice we have see a large increase in myopia, across all age groups.

The National Institutes of Health reports diseases linked to high myopia include glaucoma, retinal disease, and cataracts. As the eye elongates, the prescription increases, and the risk of these conditions increase significantly.

The biggest eye health threat linked to myopia is retinal disease. An NIH abstract summarized multiple clinical studies and concluded the threats of vision impairment and blindness will continue to increase significantly without an effort to stop the development and progression of myopia.

To help you understand the risk for your child, this chart produced by Review of Myopia Management demonstrates the risk of developing serious eye diseases at different levels of myopia.