Myopia onset below 10 years in kids tied to risk of high myopia: Study

Children who have myopia onset below 10 years of age were at risk of developing high myopia of early age reveals a recent study conducted in China.

All children with myopia beginning before the age of ten are at risk for excessive myopia, and children with myopia starting before the age of eight require special attention.

According to studies, myopia is growing more widespread in youngsters. While no clear correlation has been shown, evidence indicates that children who spend more time indoors performing near-focused activities (such as computer work, video games, and reading) have greater rates of myopia than those who spend more time outside.

This study was conducted by Zhuoer Qin and team with the objective to thoroughly evaluate the longitudinal changes in myopia in school-aged children wearing single-vision lenses from onset to stabilization (SVLs).

The findings of this study were published in Acta Ophthalmologica on 3rd October, 2021.

For the following study the medical records of patients who wore SVLs and had long-term follow-up data between 2006 and 2016 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients aged 6–10 years at the time of the initial visit and 16 years at the time of the last evaluation were included and analysed. The phases of development and stability of myopia were determined by drawing fitted curves of spherical equivalent changes (SE).

The key findings of this study are:

Over an average of 7 years (IQR, 6–7 years), 773 patients (median beginning age 9 years) were accessible. 

At 16 years old, the mean SE rose from 1.92 1.57 D to 6.05 2.14 D. The average age of myopia stability was 14.6 years, with girls stabilising somewhat sooner than boys. 

At 16 years old, 73.7 percent of 6-year-olds and 85.7 percent of 7-year-olds had high myopia, and the risk reduced each year from 7 to 10 years old. 

Children with SE higher than 4 D up to 10 years old had an 89.0 percent chance of having high myopia at the age of 16. 

Children with SE between 0.5 D and 2 D had a 34% chance of acquiring high myopia at the age of 16.

In conclusion, this study points out the high prevalence of high impact myopia in children with early age onset. 

Reference:

Qin Z, Peng T, Zhang Z, Lou J, Wang C, Deng R, Xu M, Yu X, Chen W. Myopia progression and stabilization in school-aged children with single-vision lenses. Acta Ophthalmol. 2021 Oct 3. doi: 10.1111/aos.15038. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34605206.