Peer-reviewed article
Myopia prevalence and risk factors in children
Christos N. Theophanous, Bobeck S. Modjtahedi, Michael Batech, David Marlin, Tiffany Q. Luong et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined myopia (nearsightedness) in nearly 61,000 children aged 5 to 19 years in Southern California. Myopia affected 42% of the children overall, with rates increasing from 15% in young children to 59% in teenagers. Asian and Pacific Islander children had higher rates of myopia than White children, and children who exercised at least 60 minutes daily had lower rates of myopia.
Key points
- 41.9% of the 60,789 children studied had myopia, defined as ≤-1.0 diopter
- Myopia prevalence increased sharply with age: 14.8% in 5-7 year olds to 59.0% in 17-19 year olds
- Asian/Pacific Islander children had 1.64 times higher odds of myopia than White children
- Children with at least 60 minutes of daily exercise had 0.87 times the odds of myopia compared to those with less exercise
- Neighborhood income between $25,000-40,000 was associated with lower myopia rates than neighborhoods with income below $25,000
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional study, so it can identify associations but cannot determine whether exercise prevents myopia or whether children with myopia exercise less. The study only includes children with access to health care in a large California health plan and may not represent all American children or other populations.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for pediatric myopia in a contemporary American cohort. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of pediatric patients enrolled in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California health plan was done. Eligible patients were 5- to 19-years old between January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2013, and received an ophthalmologic or optometric refraction. Electronic medical records were reviewed for demographic data, refraction results, and exercise data. Prevalence and relative risks of myopia (defined as ≤-1.0 diopter) were characterized. Age, sex, race/ethnicity, median neighborhood income, and minutes of exercise per day were examined as risk factors. RESULTS: There were 60,789 patients who met the inclusion criteria, of which 41.9% had myopia. Myopia was more common in older children (14.8% in 5- to 7-year olds, 59.0% in 17- to 19-year olds). Asian/Pacific Islander patients (OR 1.64, CI 1.58-1.70) had an increased rate of myopia compared to White patients as did African Americans to a lesser extent (OR 1.08, CI 1.03-1.13). Median neighborhood household income of $25,000-40,000 was associated with lower rates of myopia (OR 0.90, CI 0.83-0.97) compared to median neighborhood household incomes less than $25,000. Having at least 60 min of daily exercise was associated with lower prevalence of myopia (OR 0.87, CI 0.85-0.89). DISCUSSION: Myopia was common in this large and diverse Southern Californian pediatric cohort. The prevalence of myopia increases with age. Asian children are at highest risk for myopia. Exercise is associated with a lower rate of myopia and represents an important potentially modifiable risk factor that may be a target for future public health efforts.