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
. 2020 Dec 11;117(50):855-860.
doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2020.0855.

Prevalence and Time Trends in Myopia Among Children and Adolescents

Alexander K Schuster  1 , Laura Krause, Clara Kuchenbäcker, Franziska Prütz, Heike M Elflein, Norbert Pfeiffer, Michael S Urschitz
Affiliations

Prevalence and Time Trends in Myopia Among Children and Adolescents

Alexander K Schuster et al. Dtsch Arztebl Int. .

Abstract

Background: Myopia (near-sightedness) is increasing worldwide, especially in Asia. The aim of this study was to describe trends in the prevalence of myopia in Germany.

Methods: We analyzed data from the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS; baseline survey 2003-2006, N = 17 640; wave 2, 2014-2017, N = 15 023). The presence of myopia was determined from a parent questionnaire and validated by the use of a visual aid. The population prevalence of myopia was calculated. Based on the KiGGS wave 2 data, potential risk factors for myopia were identified by means of logistic regression.

Results: The prevalence of myopia at the age of 0-17 years in Germany was 11.6% (95% confidence interval [11.0; 12.2]) in the period 2003-2006 and 11.4% [10.7; 12.2] in 2014-2017. No age group of either sex exhibited a relevant, statistically significant change in the prevalence of myopia. In the adjusted model (adjusted for age, sex, family socioeconomic status, family history of migration), no association was found between myopia and use of digital media. More time spent reading books was associated with myopia: reading for more than 2 h/day showed an odds ratio of 1.69 [1.3; 2.2].

Conclusion: The prevalence of myopia in children and adolescents in Germany has remained virtually unchanged over a period of approximately 10 years. Changes in media consumption, such as the increased use of smartphones in this age group, have therefore had no detectable impact on the development of myopia, at least not so far. Future studies should investigate the influences of further increases in media use and examine the long-term effects.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure
Prevalence and time trends in myopia among male (a) and female (b) children and adolescents in Germany Data source: KiGGS baseline study (2003–2006), KiGGS wave 2 (2014–2017); myopia was defined based on parent questionnaire answer and presence of a visual aid.
eFigure
eFigure
Prevalence and time trends in myopia among male (a) and female (b) children and adolescents in Germany without taking account of the presence of a visual aid Data source: KiGGS baseline study (2003–2006), KiGGS wave 2 (2014–2017)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Approach Not Very Valid.
    Barry JC. Barry JC. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021 Apr 30;118(17):302. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.m2021.0137. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2021. PMID: 34180802 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Bourne RR, Jonas JB, Flaxman SR, et al. Prevalence and causes of vision loss in high-income countries and in Eastern and Central Europe: 1990-2010. Br J Ophthalmol. 2014;98:629–638. - PubMed
    1. Herrnheiser J. Verlag von Fischer‘s Medic. Berlin: 1892. Die Refractionsentwicklung des menschlichen Auges.
    1. Mirshahi A, Ponto KA, Hoehn R, et al. Myopia and level of education: results from the Gutenberg Health Study. Ophthalmology. 2014;121:2047–2052. - PubMed
    1. Mountjoy E, Davies NM, Plotnikov D, et al. Education and myopia: assessing the direction of causality by mendelian randomisation. BMJ. 2018;361 k2022. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rudnicka AR, Kapetanakis VV, Wathern AK, et al. Global variations and time trends in the prevalence of childhood myopia, a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis: implications for aetiology and early prevention. Br J Ophthalmol. 2016;100:882–890. - PMC - PubMed