Myopia is Becoming More Prevalent Among Children, Preteens and Teens That Can Cause Problems Now and Later

Myopia affects 30% of the Canadian population. It begins at younger ages and progresses at a faster rate than in past generations. The vision condition causes nearsightedness, in which people may see clearly up close, but distant objects become blurry or obscured. Myopia is one of the most prevalent reasons teens and preteens need glasses to correct their vision. 

Journalist Zuher Almusre from U Multicultural Channel spoke with Dr. Michael Nelson, Optometrist at Eyes on Bridgwater to get more details about this disease. Nelson said that one of the issues of myopia is kids that we want them to be able to see clearly far away and optometrists have always done that for kids with lenses or contact lenses but the bigger issue is that when you are myopic it means your eyeball is bigger than the average and your eyes more risk for eye disease when you become an adult. So, if we can slow down myopia then it's possible to save our vision as an adult.  

Myopia in children –progresses rapidly from Grades 1 to 8, according to research from the University of Waterloo's School of Optometry and Vision Science and the CNIB Foundation, with a third of instances going untreated and uncorrected. This study also found that the onset of myopia is now 6-7 years old, whereas it was previously 12-13 years old. 

Myopia is thought to be caused by hereditary and environmental factors. Over 150 genetic variations have been identified that increase myopia risk, although the mechanisms remain unknown. 

There is also a link between outside time and myopia development in children, with more outdoor time being better. There is continued research to establish the mechanism at work. Early population health studies show that lengthy up-close screen time and time spent indoors are risk factors for myopia. 

Stay tuned for more Civic discussions on Civic Platform: https://u-channel.ca/civic-journalism/     

    
Contact Zuher Almusre, our civic journalist, to share your story and explore civic issues at zuheralmusre@u-channel.ca.      

   
The project is funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).