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. 2024 Mar:259:35-44.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.10.019. Epub 2023 Oct 27.

Trends in Myopia and High Myopia from 1966 to 2019 in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Prashant D Tailor  1 , Timothy T Xu  1 , Shreya Tailor  2 , Collin Asheim  1 , Timothy W Olsen  3
Affiliations

Trends in Myopia and High Myopia from 1966 to 2019 in Olmsted County, Minnesota

Prashant D Tailor et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of myopia and high myopia in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from 1966 to 2019.

Design: Retrospective, cross-sectional, trend study.

Methods: Manifest refractions or lens prescription were converted to spherical equivalent (SE) to estimate the prevalence of adult myopia and high myopia. Age, sex, race, and visual acuity were recorded. Subjects with an SE of -0.5 diopters (D) or less were considered to have myopia; those with an SE of -6.0 D or less were considered to have high myopia. Exclusion criteria included visually significant cataract, pseudophakia, prior refractive surgery, or age less than 18 years.

Results: Among 81,706 sampled subjects, the myopia prevalence increased from 33.9% (95% CI, 31.1-36.8) in the 1960s to 57.1% (95% CI, 56.6-57.6) in the 2010s (P < .001). The high myopia prevalence increased from 2.8% (95% CI, 1.95-3.98) in the 1960s to 8.3% (95% CI, 8.08-8.62) in the 2010s (P < .001). Both male (32.0%-55.1%, P < .001) and female (40.6%-58.5%, P < .001) subjects experienced increasing myopia prevalence from the 1960s to the 2010s; both male (2.6%-7.4%, P < .001) and female (3.4%-9.1%, P < .001) subjects also had higher high myopia prevalence rates from the 1960s through the 2010s. Increasing myopia and high myopia prevalence was detected by decade in nearly all age groups (excluding 18- to 24-year-old high myopia subjects). White and Asian subjects had the highest myopia prevalence, whereas Black subjects had the lowest. From the 2000s to the 2010s, White (53.3%-57.0%, P < .001) and Black (41.0%-47.0%, P = .001) subjects had significant increases in myopia prevalence. The mean SE decreased from the 1960s (-0.42 D; 95% CI, -0.59 to +2.49) to the 2010s (-1.85 D; 95% CI, -1.88 to +2.96) (P < .001).

Conclusions: From 1966 to 2019 in Olmsted County, Minnesota, there was a 68% and 199% increase in myopia and high myopia prevalence, respectively.

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Conflict of interest statement

b. Conflict of Interest: No direct conflicting relationship exists for any author. Dr. Olsen has equity in iMacular Regeneration, LLC with no conflict of interest related to data presented.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Revised Myopia Classification Algorithm in the Present Study. D=Diopter
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Comparison of Spherical Equivalent Distribution by Decade. The dashed lines in each plot represent the mean, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile spherical equivalent, respectively, for each decade (viewing top to bottom). D = Diopters
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Comparison of Spherical Equivalent Distribution by Race from 1990’s to 2010’s. The dashed lines in each plot represent the mean, 25th percentile, and 75th percentile spherical equivalent, respectively, by race by decade (viewing top to bottom). D = Diopter
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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