139: An evidence-based update on myopia and interventions to retard its progression

Abstract

SummaryMyopia is the most common human eye disorder. With its increasing prevalence and earlier ageof-onset in recent birth cohorts, myopia now affects almost 33% of adult individuals in the United States, and epidemic proportions of 85% to 90% adult individuals in Asian cities. Unlike children in Western populations, where the prevalence of myopia is very low (less than 5%), Asian children have prevalences as high as 29% in 7-year-olds. In addition to the direct economic and social burdens of myopia, associated ocular complications may lead to substantial vision loss. This workshop summarizes the current literature regarding myopia epidemiology, genetics, animal model studies, risk factors, and clinical treatments. Published treatment strategies to retard the progression of myopia in children, such as pharmacologic agents, progressive addition lenses, neural adaptation programs are outlined.Myopia, or near-sightedness, is the state of refraction in which parallel rays of light are brought to focus in front of the retina of a resting eye. 1 It is measured by the spherical power in diopters of the diverging lens needed to focus light onto the retina, which can be expressed as the spherical equivalent (SE), that is, sphere + half negative cylinder. Most commonly used definitions of myopia in epidemiologic studies include SE of at least −0.50D, −0.75D, and −1.0D. 2 Myopia is the most common human eye disorder in the world, affecting 85% to 90% of young adults in some Asian countries such as Singapore and Taiwan,3,4 and between 25% and 50% of older adults in the United States and Europe. [5][6][7] Epidemiological studies in Western populations have collectively shown the prevalence of myopia to be low (<5%) in children aged 8 years or younger. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14] However, studies in Asian children suggest a significantly higher prevalence of myopia, affecting 9% to 15% of preschool children 15,16 and 29% of primary school children in Singapore. 17 A study of 10,000 Taiwanese school children found that the prevalence of myopia was 6% in 6-yearolds, with the prevalence increasing to more than 70% by age of 15 years. 18