Biswas, Sayantan, El Kareh, Antonio, Qureshi, Mariyem, Lee, Deborah Mei Xuan, Sun, Chen-Hsin, Lam, Janice S.H., Saw, Seang-Mei and Najjar, Raymond P. (2024). The influence of the environment and lifestyle on myopia. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 43 (1), p. 7.
Abstract
Background: Myopia, commonly known as near-sightedness, has emerged as a global epidemic, impacting almost one in three individuals across the world. The increasing prevalence of myopia during early childhood has heightened the risk of developing high myopia and related sight-threatening eye conditions in adulthood. This surge in myopia rates, occurring within a relatively stable genetic framework, underscores the profound influence of environmental and lifestyle factors on this condition. In this comprehensive narrative review, we shed light on both established and potential environmental and lifestyle contributors that affect the development and progression of myopia. Main body: Epidemiological and interventional research has consistently revealed a compelling connection between increased outdoor time and a decreased risk of myopia in children. This protective effect may primarily be attributed to exposure to the characteristics of natural light (i.e., sunlight) and the release of retinal dopamine. Conversely, irrespective of outdoor time, excessive engagement in near work can further worsen the onset of myopia. While the exact mechanisms behind this exacerbation are not fully comprehended, it appears to involve shifts in relative peripheral refraction, the overstimulation of accommodation, or a complex interplay of these factors, leading to issues like retinal image defocus, blur, and chromatic aberration. Other potential factors like the spatial frequency of the visual environment, circadian rhythm, sleep, nutrition, smoking, socio-economic status, and education have debatable independent influences on myopia development. Conclusion: The environment exerts a significant influence on the development and progression of myopia. Improving the modifiable key environmental predictors like time spent outdoors and engagement in near work can prevent or slow the progression of myopia. The intricate connections between lifestyle and environmental factors often obscure research findings, making it challenging to disentangle their individual effects. This complexity underscores the necessity for prospective studies that employ objective assessments, such as quantifying light exposure and near work, among others. These studies are crucial for gaining a more comprehensive understanding of how various environmental factors can be modified to prevent or slow the progression of myopia.
Publication DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40101-024-00354-7 |
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Divisions: | College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry College of Health & Life Sciences College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Optometry > Optometry & Vision Science Research Group (OVSRG) Aston University (General) |
Funding Information: | his work was supported by the ASPIRE-NUS startup grant (NUHSRO/2022/038/Startup/08) and the National Research Foundation grant (NRF2022-THE004-0002) to RPN. SB was supported by a research grant from the Singapore Government (IAF), Industry Collaboration P |
Additional Information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Progression,Emmetropization,Etiology,Outdoor time,Light,Genetics,Epidemiology,Risk factors,Environment,Myopia,Refraction, Ocular,Prospective Studies,Humans,Child, Preschool,Myopia/epidemiology,Accommodation, Ocular,Circadian Rhythm,Child |
Publication ISSN: | 1880-6805 |
Last Modified: | 04 Nov 2024 09:30 |
Date Deposited: | 01 Feb 2024 09:13 |
Full Text Link: | |
Related URLs: |
https://jphysio ... 101-024-00354-7
(Publisher URL) http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL) |
PURE Output Type: | Review article |
Published Date: | 2024-01-31 |
Accepted Date: | 2024-01-05 |
Submitted Date: | 2023-10-23 |
Authors: |
Biswas, Sayantan
(
0000-0001-6011-0365)
El Kareh, Antonio Qureshi, Mariyem Lee, Deborah Mei Xuan Sun, Chen-Hsin Lam, Janice S.H. Saw, Seang-Mei Najjar, Raymond P. |