What is myopia? Experts now calling nearsightedness a disease

It is estimated that over 40% of Americans are nearsighted.

Many people may consider this a minor inconvenience that can be easily solved with glasses. The authors of the report released Tuesday They are calling on health authorities to classify it as a disease.

Committee members from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said myopia has become an “evolving epidemic” that requires more research, standardized treatment and early prevention, and recommended that children spend at least an hour outdoors each day.

It’s the first time the National Academy of Sciences has released a report on myopia since 1989. Some research suggests that in some areas, myopia may be 25 percent more prevalent than it was 40 years ago, according to the American Optometric Association.

“This has been needed for a long time,” said Dr. Teri Young, co-chair of the committee and professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Researchers aren’t sure exactly why myopia is on the rise, but they think it may have to do with the amount of time kids spend indoors looking at screens.

“Infections are increasing rapidly in the United States and are not under control,” Young said.

What is myopia and how many people are affected?

Myopia is a vision disorder in which close objects appear clear but distant objects appear blurry.

This occurs when the shape of the eye bends light rays so that they focus in front of the retina instead of on it.. The retina is the nerve at the back of the eye that converts light into electrical signals so the brain can process it as an image. According to the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Fatema Ghassia, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Cleveland Clinic’s Kole Eye Institute, said the condition typically begins in childhood.

Babies are born farsighted, but their vision usually corrects as they grow. In children with myopia, the eye grows too far and exceeds the point at which it can focus images.

Young, in the National Academy of Sciences report, predicts this trend will continue unless the U.S. undertakes a coordinated national effort to prevent and effectively diagnose myopia in children.

Myopia hasn’t been considered an urgent issue before, but it should become one given the potential impact it has on children, she said. Research suggests Poor eyesight reduces academic performance.

“It just has downstream effects on how that child functions in society,” she said.

How to prevent myopia in children

According to a report from the National Academy of Sciences, one of the best ways to prevent myopia in children is to spend at least one to two hours outdoors each day.

“Going outside and looking into the distance, admiring the horizon and different wavelengths, somehow helps slow the progression of myopia,” Young said.

On days when it’s difficult to get outside, experts say being near a window or door where sunlight can stream in can also help.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be sunny outside, the important thing is that the child is exposed to natural light,” Gascia said.

Outdoor time isn’t just the responsibility of parents, experts say. Schools and daycares must ensure students spend enough time outdoors. The National Academy of Sciences authors said a 20-minute break isn’t enough.

While at least an hour of outdoor activity is the gold standard, any time spent outdoors has the potential to prevent the progression of myopia, Dr. Gascia said.

Myopia diagnosis

Young said he’s started to see a “myopic shift” among the kids attending his clinic.

This change is two-fold. First, the age at which myopia is diagnosed is getting younger: Instead of being found in children as young as 5 or 6, it’s becoming more common for myopia to be diagnosed in children as young as 3 or 4, Young said.

Doctors are also seeing a shift in what is considered normal vision: Perfect vision was once the standard, but now most patients have at least mild myopia, Young said.

Ophthalmologists could slow and potentially even reverse these trends if patients were screened, diagnosed, and treated early, but a lack of standardization of care prevents health care providers from intervening as early as they could, according to the National Academy of Sciences report.

For example, not all patients are tested at the same age: Young recommends that children get their first test at their preschool physical, but some patients don’t get tested until they’re in second or third grade. Diagnostic tools are also not standardized, with some clinics using eye drops during vision tests and others not.

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