This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Time outdoors, less homework protect against childhood myopia
Schoolchildren in Taipei City, Taiwan, who had emmetropia at baseline, had two myopic parents and spent at least 5 hours a week on homework had the greatest risk of developing myopia during the subsequent year, according to a study in Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.
As part of the Myopia Investigation Study in Taipei, 11,590 grade 2 schoolchildren completed an ocular examination.
Among 7,376 baseline nonmyopic participants, 6,794 were examined during the first-year follow-up, and 1,856 with incident myopia were identified, according to researchers.
The annual incidence rate of myopia was 31.7% among schoolchildren 7 to 8 years old.
The risk was associated with area of residence, parental myopia, baseline refractive status, time outdoors after school on weekdays and time spent on after-school tutoring programs.
Researchers found that spending more time outdoors after school and less time on after-school tutoring programs were protective factors against new-onset myopia. —by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: Tsai reported no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for all remaining authors’ relevant financial disclosures.