Research focuses on growing myopia epidemic

In recent years, diabetes and age-related macular degeneration have been increasingly described as emerging epidemics that will affect millions of subjects throughout the world. Today, we have to address a condition that will dramatically influence society and health care systems.Myopia is also reaching epidemic dimensions. In East Asia, its prevalence has moved from 10% to 20% during the middle of last century to 90% today among teenagers and young adults. South Korea probably holds the record with 96% prevalence. Europe and the United States have also doubled the prevalence of half a century ago with about half of young subjects today affected by myopia. By the end of this decade, 2.5 billion people, ie, one-third of the world’s population, may be shortsighted. Compared with 400 million people living with diabetes, this is a scary scenario. Myopia does not represent a refractive defect only, but a condition associated with retinal detachment, cataract, glaucoma and ultimately blindness. About one-fifth of the university population in East Asia has severe forms of myopia and will incur irreversible vision loss.