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
Review
. 2023 May 1;64(6):2.
doi: 10.1167/iovs.64.6.2.

IMI-Onset and Progression of Myopia in Young Adults

Mark A Bullimore  1 , Samantha Sze-Yee Lee  2 , Katrina L Schmid  3 , Jos J Rozema  4   5 , Nicolas Leveziel  6 , Edward A H Mallen  7 , Nina Jacobsen  8 , Rafael Iribarren  9 , Pavan K Verkicharla  10 , Jan Roelof Polling  11   12 , Paul Chamberlain  13
Affiliations
Review

IMI-Onset and Progression of Myopia in Young Adults

Mark A Bullimore et al. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. .

Abstract

Myopia typically starts and progresses during childhood, but onset and progression can occur during adulthood. The goals of this review are to summarize published data on myopia onset and progression in young adults, aged 18 to 40 years, to characterize myopia in this age group, to assess what is currently known, and to highlight the gaps in the current understanding. Specifically, the peer-reviewed literature was reviewed to: characterize the timeline and age of stabilization of juvenile-onset myopia; estimate the frequency of adult-onset myopia; evaluate the rate of myopia progression in adults, regardless of age of onset, both during the college years and later; describe the rate of axial elongation in myopic adults; identify risk factors for adult onset and progression; report myopia progression and axial elongation in adults who have undergone refractive surgery; and discuss myopia management and research study design. Adult-onset myopia is common, representing a third or more of all myopia in western populations, but less in East Asia, where onset during childhood is high. Clinically meaningful myopia progression continues in early adulthood and may average 1.00 diopters (D) between 20 and 30 years. Higher levels of myopia are associated with greater absolute risk of myopia-related ocular disease and visual impairment, and thus myopia in this age group requires ongoing management. Modalities established for myopia control in children would be options for adults, but it is difficult to predict their efficacy. The feasibility of studies of myopia control in adults is limited by the long duration required.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: M.A. Bullimore, Alcon Research (C), CooperVision (C), EssilorLuxottica (C), Euclid Systems (C), Eyenovia (C), Genentech (C), Johnson & Johnson Surgical (C), Johnson & Johnson Vision (C), Lentechs (C), Novartis (C), Oculus(C), Pentavision (C), Presbia (C), Sydnexis (C), Vyluma (C), Ridgevue Publishing (O), Ridgevue Vision (O); S.S.-Y. Lee, None; K.L. Schmid, Carl Zeiss Vision Australia (F); Aspen Australia (C); J.J. Rozema, None; N. Leveziel, None; E.A.H. Mallen, EssilorLuxottica (C); N. Jacobsen, None; R. Iribarren, None; P.K. Verkicharla, None; J.R. Polling, Hoya (C), Essilor (C), Vyluma (C), CooperVision (C); P. Chamberlain, CooperVision (E)

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The proportion of myopia that is adult-onset as a function of the mean age of surveyed participants. The data are from the 14 studies listed in Table 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Mean annual myopia progression as a function of age at the midpoint of the study period. The data are from the 23 of the 25 studies listed in Tables 3 and 4 with data on myopia progression. Closed symbols are data based on cycloplegic refraction. Open symbols are data based on non-cycloplegic refraction.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Mean annual myopia progression among adults 18 to 25 years as a function of year of publication. The data are from the 16 studies listed in Table 3.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Goldschmidt E. On the etiology of myopia. An epidemiological study. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1968;Suppl 98: 1+. - PubMed
    1. Grosvenor T. A review and a suggested classification system for myopia on the basis of age-related prevalence and age of onset. Am J Optom Physiol Opt. 1987; 64: 545–554. - PubMed
    1. Flitcroft DI, He M, Jonas JB, et al. .. IMI—Defining and classifying myopia: A proposed set of standards for clinical and epidemiologic studies. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2019; 60: M20–M30. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McBrien NA, Adams DW.. A longitudinal investigation of adult-onset and adult-progression of myopia in an occupational group. Refractive and biometric findings. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 1997; 38: 321–333. - PubMed
    1. Midelfart A, Aamo B, Sjohaug KA, Dysthe BE.. Myopia among medical students in Norway. Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh). 1992; 70: 317–322. - PubMed

Publication types