Myopia and Its Association with Near Work, Outdoor Time, and Housing Type among Schoolchildren in South India

imageSIGNIFICANCE

In this comprehensive assessment of environmental associations with refractive status among schoolchildren in India, outdoor time was the key modifiable risk factor associated with myopia rather than time spent on near work.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the environmental risk factors associated with myopia among adolescent schoolchildren in South India.

METHODS

Children in grades 8 to 10 from 11 schools in Tamil Nadu, South India, underwent eye examination and risk factor assessments through a modified version of the Sydney myopia questionnaire. Time spent on near work and outdoors was analyzed after division into three groups based on tertiles. Mixed-effects logistic regression was performed to assess the factors associated with myopia.

RESULTS

A total of 3429 children (response rate, 78.4%) provided both questionnaire and refraction data. The mean (standard deviation) age was 14 (0.93) years with an equal distribution of sexes. Myopia was present among 867 children (noncycloplegic spherical equivalent refraction, ≤−0.75 D). Refraction was not associated with near work tertiles (P = .22), whereas less time outdoors was associated with higher myopic refractions (P = .01). Refraction shifted toward increased myopia with an increase in the near-work/outdoor time ratio (P = .005). Children living in apartment housing had a higher prevalence of myopia compared with other types of housing (P

One-year Efficacy of the Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segment Lens in Chinese Myopic Children

imageSIGNIFICANCE

These data demonstrate that defocus incorporated multiple segment (DIMS) lens reduces myopia progression in children during the first year of use.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of DIMS myopia control spectacle lens in Chinese myopic children aged 6 to 15 years.

METHODS

This is a retrospective study of 1-year longitudinal data. A total of 180 Chinese myopic children were selected from patients at Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, from February 2018 to January 2021. One group consisted of 90 children aged 6 to 15 years, with spherical equivalent refraction −0.50 to −7.75 D (−3.82 ± 1.57 D) and fitted with the DIMS lens. The other group consisted of 90 children fitted with single-vision spectacle lenses and matched with the DIMS group for age, sex, refraction, and progression of myopia in the previous year. One-year myopia progression was measured retrospectively in two groups. Unpaired t test was used to compare the myopia progression between the DIMS group and the control group. Pearson correlation was used to explore the relationship between myopia progression, age, and baseline refraction.

RESULTS

After 1 year of DIMS lens wear, myopia progression was significantly lower in the DIMS group (−0.51 ± 0.50 vs. −0.85 ± 0.51 D, P