FACTORS FOR DEVELOPING MYOPIA

Life-course epidemiological study identifies early life influences in myopia
This investigation included 2,487 randomly selected 44-year-old members of the 1958 British birth cohort. Myopia prevalence was 49 percent. Of these, 80.6 percent had late-onset myopia. Myopia was associated with low birth weight for gestational age, as well as sex, greater maternal age, higher paternal occupational social class, and maternal smoking in early pregnancy. In adults, myopia was associated with higher educational attainment and socioeconomic status, and greater height. They say these results show cause for an approach to myopia research that includes application of genetic and life-course epidemiological and statistical data. Ophthalmology, May 2011

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

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