C55475: Myopia – part 3

Progressive myopia is an acknowledged issue, and a developing body of knowledge has grown concerning its causes and remedies. This knowledge has to be incorporated into the consulting room routine, and some first thoughts on this are outlined below.

Significance of myopia

Prevalence of myopia in children is increasing globally, particularly in east Asia where 69% of 15-year-olds are myopic, an increase of 23% in the last decade.¹ This is even more marked in Singapore, where 86% of 15-year-olds are myopic, with Africa representing the other end of regional variations with an incidence of 5%. People living in cities are 2.6x more likely to develop myopia than those from rural environments. As urban inhabitants have swelled from 15% of the total population to more than 50% in the past century,² there has been a corresponding impact on the prevalence of myopia worldwide, and particularly in countries where there has been rapid urbanisation. Tackling myopia progression is hindered by parents’ ignorance of it and its implications,³ and by practitioners’ ongoing prescription of single vision spectacles as a primary approach for short-sighted patients.⁴