Researchers examine progression of myopia in early adulthood

New research has delved into how myopia progresses in young adults.

The study, which was published in JAMA Ophthalmology, involved examining the incidence of myopia and change in ocular biometry among a group of 691 adults between the ages of 20 and 28.

Of the 526 participants without myopia at the start of the study, the myopia incidence between the ages of 20 and 28 was 14%.

More than one in three participants (37.8%) experienced a myopic shift over the eight-year period, with an average increase in myopia of 0.04 diopters per year and growth in axial length of 0.02 mm per year.

Rates of myopia progression and axial elongation were faster in female participants and those with parental myopia.

Education level was not associated with myopia incidence or progression.

“These findings suggest myopia progression continues for more than one-third of adults during the third decade of life, albeit at lower rates than during childhood,” the authors highlighted.

“The protective effects of time outdoors against myopia may continue into young adulthood,” they added.