RISKS
ASSOCIATED RISKS OF MYOPIA
Myopia is associated with increased risks to eye health in adulthood.- Myopic macular degeneration (MMD)1
- Staphyloma2
- Retinal detachment3
- Primary open-angle glaucoma4
- Cataracts5
Table 1
Table 1: The increased likelihood (odds ratio) of a myopic person > 60 years developing eye disease versus an emmetrope by degree of myopia6
Table 1 Tips
*Applies to only Myopia of -6.00 to -10.00 D. Odds ratios are 7.8 for myopia of -10.00 to -15.00 D and 88 for myopia more than -15.00 D.
+Decimal visual acuity of 0.30 to 0.05 (approx 20/60 to 20/400).
+Decimal visual acuity of 0.30 to 0.05 (approx 20/60 to 20/400).
THREATS
MYOPIA IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO EYE HEALTH OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Eye care professionals should embrace therapies treating children as soon as signs of myopia appear in order to reduce the risk of sight-threatening complications in later life.Prevalence of myopia
Prevalence of myopia has nearly doubled over the past 20 years.8
Both Eastern and Western populations
Both Eastern and Western populations exhibit the same troubling trend of increasing myopia.8
No safe level of myopia,
No safe level of myopia, with over 30% of MMD occurring in people less myopic than -6.00 D.9
Every additional diopter
Every additional diopter of myopia increases the risk of MMD by 67%.10
25% of people
25% of people with axial length ≥26 mm will develop visual impariment by age 75.7
Reduce the risk of sight-threatening complications in later life.
Prevalence of myopia
Prevalence of myopia has nearly doubled over the past 20 years.8
Both Eastern and Western populations
Both Eastern and Western populations exhibit the same troubling trend of increasing myopia.8
No safe level of myopia,
No safe level of myopia, with over 30% of MMD occurring in people less myopic than -6.00 D.9
Every additional diopter
Every additional diopter of myopia increases the risk of MMD by 67%.10
25% of people
25% of people with axial length ≥26 mm will develop visual impariment by age 75.7
MANAGING MYOPIA IN CHILDREN:
THE NEED FOR A NEW APPROACH
Myopia is a continuum of disease stages which should be assessed as early as possible. Myopia may continue to progress beyond the teenage years11 and the associated disease risk increases exponentially with severity of myopia,6,10 making early diagnosis and treatment crucial to lifetime eye health.
Children image
EARLY MYOPIA ONSET INCREASES RISK OF HIGH MYOPIA
Myopia progresses more quickly in younger children.12 Because early onset implies more years of progression, myopes younger than 12 are at greater risk of developing high myopia. This is why it’s essential to:
- Examine all children at least once between the ages of 3-5 years to establish baseline measurements
- Examine all children at least annually until they reach 18 years of age
Table 2
Table 2 : Classification of myopia by spherical equivalent refractive error13
EARLY MYOPIA ONSET INCREASES RISK OF HIGH MYOPIA
REFRACTIVE ERROR PREDICTS MYOPIA ONSET
Numerous risk factors can help predict myopia’s onset, but the best predictor is cycloplegic spherical equivalent refractive error at a given age. A child with low hypermetropic refraction for a given age (Table 3) has greater than an 80% likelihood of myopia onset by age 13.13 This approach provides a simple clinical method to evaluate risk of myopia onset that is just as accurate as more complex algorithms.
Table 3
Table 3 : Cycloplegic spherical equivalent autorefraction threshold by age, for children at high risk of becoming myopic by 8th grade15
REFRACTIVE ERROR PREDICTS MYOPIA ONSET