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Nearsightedness Rising in US
The 1971-1972 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey provided the earliest nationally representative estimates for US myopia prevalence; myopia was diagnosed by an algorithm using either lensometry, pinhole visual acuity, and presenting visual acuity (for presenting visual acuity 20/40) or retinoscopy (for presenting visual acuity 20/50).
Using a similar method for diagnosing myopia, we examined data from the 1999-2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to determine whether myopia prevalence had changed during the 30 years between the 2 surveys, researchers said in their findings published in the Archives of Opthalmology.
When using similar methods for each period, the prevalence of myopia in the United States appears to be substantially higher in 1999-2004 than 30 years earlier. Although myopia can be treated relatively easily with corrective lenses, it engenders substantial expenditures on a population basis owing to its high prevalence. If 25% of those aged 12 to 54 years had myopia, the associated annual cost would be more than $2 billion; an increase in prevalence to 37% would increase the cost to more than $3 billion. The question of whether myopia prevalence is increasing is therefore important to health planners and policy makers.
Identifying modifiable risk factors for myopia could lead to the development of cost-effective interventional strategies, the paper said.
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