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Researchers find no association between vitamin D, myopia
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Vitamin D and D3 are biomarkers for time spent outdoors, according to a study recently published in Investigational Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
Guggenheim and colleagues also reported that they found no evidence of an association between the vitamin levels and future myopia.
Researchers analyzed data collected in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to determine if vitamin D levels were the underlying mechanism in the association of lower myopia risk and time outdoors.
Specifically, researchers conducted survival analyses on 3,677 children until they reached 15 years of age. Children were included based on the amount of time they spent outdoors at ages 8 and 9 and their serum vitamin D2 and D3 levels at age 10.
Results showed that vitamin D and D3 levels were higher in children who spent more time outdoors; this was not true of vitamin D2 levels.
"As expected from the known biosynthetic pathways for vitamin D, we confirmed that vitamin D3 was a biomarker for time spent outdoors," the authors concluded. "However, there was no statistical evidence to suggest that the participants' serum vitamin D3 levels were associated with later myopia, once time outdoors had been taken into account. Research into other mechanisms is needed to help develop future antimyopia interventions based on the protective effects of increased time outdoors in childhood."
Disclosure: The authors have no financial disclosures.
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