Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Jun;9(6):2420-2428.
doi: 10.3892/etm.2015.2415. Epub 2015 Apr 8.

Association between parental myopia and the risk of myopia in a child

Xiaoyu Zhang  1 , Xinhua Qu  2 , Xingtao Zhou  1
Affiliations

Association between parental myopia and the risk of myopia in a child

Xiaoyu Zhang et al. Exp Ther Med. 2015 Jun.

Abstract

The association between parental myopia and a child's risk of developing the condition is not well understood. Therefore, the present study conducted a meta-analysis of the results of observational studies in order to investigate the association between myopia in parents and their child's risk of developing the condition. The current study systematically examined the databases MEDLINE, Embase and Ovid for relevant studies. Two reviewers independently evaluated the data and extracted the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from the suitable studies. Heterogeneity, publication bias and subgroup analyses were performed. The present meta-analysis included 31,677 participants from 16 studies with 8,393 cases of myopia (six prospective cohort, eight cross-sectional and two case-control studies). The OR of giving birth to a child with myopia, according to the prospective cohort, cross-sectional and case-control studies, was 1.53 (95% CI, 1.21-1.85), 1.96 (95% CI, 1.53-2.39), and 2.13 (95% CI, 1.79-2.46), respectively, when one parent had myopia, and 2.10 (95% CI, 1.42-2.77), 2.96 (95% CI, 2.21-3.71), and 2.13 (95% CI, 1.79-2.46), respectively, when two parents had myopia. The current study identified a significant positive association between parental myopia and a child's risk of developing myopia. Children of two parents with myopia had a higher risk of developing myopia compared to those with one myopic parent.

Keywords: meta-analysis; myopia; observational study; risk.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flowchart of the study selection process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Association between a child's risk of developing myopia when having (A) one or (B) two myopic parents.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Saw SM, Katz J, Schein OD, Chew SJ, Chan TK. Epidemiology of myopia. Epidemiol Rev. 1996;18:175–187. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.epirev.a017924. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Pararajasegaram R. VISION 2020-the right to sight: from strategies to action. Am J Ophthalmol. 1999;128:359–360. - PubMed
    1. He M, Zeng J, Liu Y, Xu J, Pokharel GP, Ellwein LB. Refractive error and visual impairment in urban children in southern China. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2004;45:793–799. doi: 10.1167/iovs.03-1051. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Wu HM, Seet B, Yap EP, Saw SM, Lim TH, Chia KS. Does education explain ethnic differences in myopia prevalence? A population-based study of young adult males in Singapore. Optom Vis Sci. 2001;78:234–239. doi: 10.1097/00006324-200104000-00012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Morgan I, Rose K. How genetic is school myopia? Prog Retin Eye Res. 2005;24:1–38. doi: 10.1016/j.preteyeres.2004.06.004. - DOI - PubMed