Aim: To ascertain the utility values of myopic teenage students in Singapore. Methods: Children (n=699) aged 15-18 years with myopia (spherical equivalent (SE) at least −0.5 dioptres (D)) in two high schools in Singapore were recruited. Information on time trade-off (years of life willing to sacrifice for treatment of myopia) and standard gamble for blindness (risk of blindness from therapy willing to sacrifice for treatment of myopia) utility values, demographic, and socioeconomic status data were obtained. Results: The time trade-off and standard gamble for blindness utility values were 0.93 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93 to 0.94) and 0.85 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.86), respectively. Children with presenting better eye logMAR visual acuity >0.3 had lower time trade-off utility values (mean 0.92 versus mean 0.94), after adjusting for race and sex. There were dose-response relations between standard gamble for blindness values and total family income, as well as both utility values and educational stream (all p values for trend <0.01), after controlling for the same factors. Conclusion:The utility values in myopic students were higher for teenagers with better presenting visual acuity, children who wore spectacles or contact lenses, higher total family income, more "academic" schooling stream, and who were non-Muslims. M yopia is a growing public health problem with visual, quality of life, and economic consequences. The prevalence rate and severity of myopia is increasing in different parts of the world, especially in several Asian cities including Singapore. [1][2][3][4] Blindness from myopia may be a significant problem in the near future, as high myopia (spherical equivalent (SE) at least −6.0 D) is associated with an increased lifelong risk of potentially blinding complications such as rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, glaucoma, and myopic macular degeneration. [5][6][7] The costs of regular optometry visits and spectacles, contact lenses or surgical correction amount to several billion US dollars a year in the United States.8 Psychological and cosmetic factors posed by optical correction affect the quality of life of myopic individuals. A study of 112 myopic patients aged 18-65 years in the United Kingdom showed that patients with high myopia (refractive error at least −10.0 D) had significantly worse visual function (measured using the VF-14) and vision related quality of life (VCM1) scores. 9Patient preferences for medical therapies and diminution of quality of life associated with disease have been evaluated using utility values, a theory developed in the 1940s. Brown et al modified the utility values to address the health care of eye diseases and patient preferences for perfect vision. The time trade-off utility value measures the number of years the patient is willing to sacrifice for a new technology that restores perfect health; while the standard gamble utility value assesses the risks associated with the new technology the patient is willing to take to return to the perfect health state. [10][11][12]...

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