Research
Outdoor Activity Reduces the Prevalence of Myopia in Children
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between near, mid working distance, and outdoor activities with prevalence of myopia in school-aged children.
This was a cross-sectional study of 2 age samples from 51 Sydney schools selected through a random cluster methodology.
This study included 1765 6-year children and 2367 12-year children.
Higher levels of outdoor activity were associated with more hyperopic refractions and lower myopia prevalence in the 12-year-old students.
Students who combined high levels of near work with low levels of outdoor activity had the least hyperopic mean refraction (+0.27 D; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02–0.52).
Students who combined low levels of near work with high levels of outdoor activity had the most hyperopic mean refraction (+0.56 D; 95% CI, 0.38–0.75).
Significant protective associations with increased outdoor activity were seen for the lowest (P = 0.04) and middle (P = 0.02) tertiles of near-work activity.
The study shows that the more time spent outdoors, the less myopia and a more hyperopic mean refraction.
This article was identified as a reference for a VII-commissioned systematic review on the Impact of URE on Children.