Increased UVB exposure associated with decreased myopia

Increased exposure to ultraviolet B radiation was associated with a reduction in myopia, according to a study.

The study included 3,168 participants aged 65 years and older with and without myopia, whose data were derived from the European Eye Study, which gathered information on refractive status, ultraviolet radiation exposure, serum vitamin D concentration and genetic polymorphisms related to vitamin D pathways in participants from northern to southern Europe.

The researchers performed eye examinations on the subjects, from whom blood samples were also taken, while interviewers gathered information on years of education, smoking, alcohol use, medical history, food frequency and outdoor exposure. The participants were also given a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire, along with a detailed questionnaire on their time spent outdoors.

“We found that higher annual lifetime UVB exposure, directly related to time outdoors and sunlight exposure, was associated with reduced odds of myopia,” the study authors wrote.

“Exposure to UVB between ages 14 and 29 years was associated with the highest reduction in odds of adult myopia.”

After adjusting for age, sex and study center, the researchers found an increase of 1 standard deviation in lifetime UVB exposure was associated with a lower risk of myopia development (P = .001). Subjects with the greatest number of years of education were twice as likely as those with the least education to develop myopia (P = .001). – by Joe Green

Disclosures: Williams reports financial support from a Medical Research Council (UK) Clinical Research Training Fellowship. Please see the study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.

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Source:

Williams KM, et al. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016;doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2016.4752.