Medicine Short-sightedness in children is increasing worldwide

Around one in three adolescents in the world is short-sighted - and the phenomenon is on the rise. According to a study, the number of children and young people affected by short-sightedness will rise to more than 740 million by 2050.

This corresponds to around 40 percent of adolescents aged five and over worldwide, writes a Chinese research team in the "British Journal of Ophthalmology".

For the forecast, the group led by Yajun Chen from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou analyzed studies and government reports from 50 countries worldwide. In total, data from more than 5.4 million children and adolescents between the ages of 5 and 19 were included, of which more than 1.9 million were short-sighted.

Short-sightedness (myopia) usually begins in childhood, with distant objects being perceived out of focus. Although this can be caused by genetic predisposition, experts believe that behavioral changes such as spending time indoors and a lot of time in front of screens are primarily responsible for the sharp increase that has been recorded for years.

Differences according to age and gender

The prevalence of myopia has already increased significantly between 1990 and 2023. While the number of affected children and adolescents largely stagnated between 1990 and 2010 at 24 to 25 percent, the increase accelerated in the following years. According to the report, 36% of children and young people were short-sighted in 2023.

There are also differences between the sexes: girls are affected slightly more often than boys, which according to the researchers is partly due to the fact that girls tend to spend less time outdoors and more time doing activities where they focus on close objects. A longer school education and living in a city also increase the likelihood of myopia.

Global challenge

According to the study, myopia could become a "global health burden" in the future. A higher increase is expected in countries with a low to medium per capita income than in countries with a high per capita income. The scientists forecast the highest prevalence of 69 percent in 2050 for Asia. One possible reason for this is that children there start school earlier.

The phenomenon was most prevalent in Japan and South Korea between 1990 and 2023, with almost 86% and 74% respectively. Russia (46%), Singapore (44%) and China (41%) were also heavily affected. Myopathy was registered much less frequently in various African countries such as Uganda and Burkina Faso, with roughly 1.3% each. According to the study, less than 1 percent of children and young people in Paraguay were affected.

SDA