5 ms·

The "myopia is purely genetic" zeitgeist has been continually shoved down all of our throats in the west. Meanwhile, studies from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea show

The "myopia is purely genetic" zeitgeist has been continually shoved down all of our throats in the west. Meanwhile, studies from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea show that myopia truly has an environmental component to it, e.g. childhood eyestrain and video games. It's also undeniable that myopia manifests more in middle class workers than working class, which indicates some sort of systematic environmental component. Since the article is specifically about Japan and Asian markets, I must add this: One may argue that the discrepancy in mainstream scientific conclusions could simply be due to differences in genetics between East Asians and Europeans. This mainstream "myopia can't be cured/prevented" rhetoric has been extremely harmful for approximately 2 billion people on this planet.

simlevesque 6y ago
I have bad myopia (around -5) both my parents have it too and to me it has always been evident that it isn't purely genetic. I think I could willfuly downgrade my vision if I concentrated.
- mumblemumble 6y ago
  In my family (n=basically_none), it seems that myopia correlates strongly with habits. The most bookish, indoors-y kids ended up in glasses - and the more so, the thicker the glasses - while folks who spent their childhoods running around outside tend to have 20/20 vision. Assuming such an effect really exists, I expect it would be very difficult to statistically distinguish from straight heredity. Kids' early childhood habits tend to reflect family culture.
  - typon 6y ago
    I read that being in the sun when you're a child and your eyes having to adjust with the change in brightness helps with reducing myopia
    - amelius 6y ago
      Perhaps a good reason to buy a HDR monitor then :)
    - mumblemumble 6y ago
      The other hypothesis I've heard is that it's switching back and forth between focusing on close-up things and distant things. Which you naturally do a lot when engaging in outdoor activities, but basically not at all when staring at books or screens.
  - toast0 6y ago
    OTOH, perhaps those who are starting to have myopia aren't going to want to do outdoorsy things because they tend to require far-seeing. If I can't see what's going on far away, I'm not going to have a fun time with most sports, and I'd rather read a book.
    - benibela 6y ago
      Just read a book outside with reading glasses
- teyc 6y ago
  Not sure if it'll help, there's an older gentleman on Youtube who claims reading with glasses actually makes myopia worse with time, due to the way it affects the shape of the eyeballs. Look up Tod Becker.
  - andrewzah 6y ago
    Really? We're taking medical advice from random people on youtube? How is this any different from a youtuber claiming the earth is flat or vaccines cause autism?
- buss 6y ago
  I have hypermyopia (-12.5 left, -13 right) and my sister has 20/15 vision. Same childhood environment as her and I needed glasses before I could even read, let alone before I ever played a video game. It's well beyond a genetic predisposition, it was a genetic guarantee for me.
frankohn 6y ago
The predisposition to myopia is genetic but one becomes myopic due to an environmental factor: the lack of exposure to sunlight. It is because of the lack to regular exposure to sunlight that people who study and spend a lot of time in homes can develop myopia if they are genetically predisposed. Focusing on nearby objects does not lead to myopia. Doing gymnastics with the eyes has no effect. Likewise, using under-sized glasses has no effect on myopia. Here a supporting article about Inuit populations developed myopia just in one generation because of changes in lifestyle reducing outdoor activities: https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120 https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120
- Geee 6y ago
  As a kid, I remember that my myopia disappeared after one summer when I was outdoors a lot. Then it came back soon after returning to school.
  - itwy 6y ago
    I don't think it works like that.
    - meowface 6y ago
      It does seem like a convenient "just-so" anecdote, and I've never experienced or heard of myopia just going away like that, but I also don't think it sounds completely implausible.
      - soylentcola 6y ago
        I'd imagine it's also less noticeable in scenarios when you don't need to read smaller letters from a distance as much (ie: when you are playing outside rather than sitting in class).
        throwawayboise 6y ago
        Also in bright light your pupils are constricted so depth of field is greater. In dim light your pupils are dialated and depth of field is shallower. Same principle as a camera lens f-stop. So the perception that you see more clearly in bright outdoor conditions could be true.
bilegeek 6y ago
The factors weren't "childhood eyestrain and video games". The one consistent factor was the amount of bright light exposure in a study[1]; in other words, being indoors, away from bright sunlight, which is correlative to eyestrain and video games, not causative, because people tend to do those things indoors. If you read outdoors in bright light, it's not really worse than just hanging around in bright light. Couldn't find a non-paywalled PDF, sorry, but here's the original study: [1]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60701-6/fulltext#section-7c530872-6235-4433-899c-b3f276970189 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... Also, it might have changed since then (2012). If there's since been a study refuting this one, let me know, because it's nigh-impossible to find between the glut of citation-free news sites and blog posts, and paywalled journals.
himinlomax 6y ago
The currently favored theory is that it's due to a lack of UV light reaching the eye. It's not (just) video games, it's (also) school and generally being indoors instead of out at midday.
- young_unixer 6y ago
  Since I learned that excess UV radiation burns the retina, I've started always wearing sunglasses outside. Should I stop?
  - himinlomax 6y ago
    The way I understand it is that it only matters while the eye is still developing, so if you're over 10 it's too late anyway. The thing with UV more generally is that we've obviously evolved with them, so while they are dangerous in some respect we also depend on them. In this case, protecting your eyes too much early is probably detrimental, but not protecting them later on probably is as well.
- stevebmark 6y ago
  There's no such theory, and exposure to light brightness has nothing to do with myopia. Being outdoors causes less close up focus, which slows the progression of myopia.
  - himinlomax 6y ago
    Not "light brightness," whatever that's supposed to mean, but UV light.
ekianjo 6y ago
> "myopia is purely genetic" I have never heard that Myopia is purely genetic. Where is that claim even coming from?
- coldtea 6y ago
  From tons of articles, medical advices, etc. that insist that "you don't develop myopia from reading, monitor work, video games, etc". They not not say that it's "purely genetic", but that's the impression one gets, that all those lifestyle params don't play any role... Wikipedia says it's "a mix of genetic and environmnetal factors", and includes all of the above factors I've mentioned. But I've read many times in the past decades articles insisting that those other things don't matter (and presenting it as the medical consensus)...
  - outworlder 6y ago
    > From tons of articles, medical advices, etc. that insist that "you don't develop myopia from reading, monitor work, video games, etc". As an adult, it would certainly be an outstanding discovery if this did matter. Which is why I'm skeptical about these supposed glasses. Sounds like snake oil, quacks like snake oil. For children, teenagers and young adults: maybe. It's all about the eye shape, and children's bodies are still in development.
    - coldtea 6y ago
      >As an adult, it would certainly be an outstanding discovery if this did matter. Why not? It's not about being "still in development". All of our organs (heart, liver, knees, joints, ears) can deteriorate in various ways if we don't take care of them or abuse them in certain ways as adults (e.g. ears and loud music, especially on headphones, can lead to reduced hearing). Heart, well, we can have the heart of a 80 year old at 40 if we have the wrong lifestyle. So why not eyes as well? (Not to mention myopia usually rises over time in adults that have it - and they change glass perscriptions etc.), so it's clearly something that develops in adulthood too. Not to mention other things related to the eyes and their plasticity etc., like presbyopia, that strike at ~ 40-45 or so.
outworlder 6y ago
> myopia truly has an environmental component to it Very much possible. I only have anecdotal evidence, but if you plotted the amount of time I spent at home starting at a TV versus other kids, you will probably find interesting correlations. > , e.g. childhood eyestrain and video games. Why single out video games in particular? If there is a problem, the problem is the screen. Or rather, how close it is. It is unlikely to be related to the content. I wouldn't be surprised to learn about a feedback loop getting disrupted. For many organs in the body, an approximate shape will work just fine, who cares if an organ is slightly off by a few millimeters. Not so for the eyes.

simlevesque 6y ago

I have bad myopia (around -5) both my parents have it too and to me it has always been evident that it isn't purely genetic. I think I could willfuly downgrade my vision if I concentrated.

mumblemumble 6y ago
In my family (n=basically_none), it seems that myopia correlates strongly with habits. The most bookish, indoors-y kids ended up in glasses - and the more so, the thicker the glasses - while folks who spent their childhoods running around outside tend to have 20/20 vision. Assuming such an effect really exists, I expect it would be very difficult to statistically distinguish from straight heredity. Kids' early childhood habits tend to reflect family culture.
- typon 6y ago
  I read that being in the sun when you're a child and your eyes having to adjust with the change in brightness helps with reducing myopia
  - amelius 6y ago
    Perhaps a good reason to buy a HDR monitor then :)
  - mumblemumble 6y ago
    The other hypothesis I've heard is that it's switching back and forth between focusing on close-up things and distant things. Which you naturally do a lot when engaging in outdoor activities, but basically not at all when staring at books or screens.
- toast0 6y ago
  OTOH, perhaps those who are starting to have myopia aren't going to want to do outdoorsy things because they tend to require far-seeing. If I can't see what's going on far away, I'm not going to have a fun time with most sports, and I'd rather read a book.
  - benibela 6y ago
    Just read a book outside with reading glasses
teyc 6y ago
Not sure if it'll help, there's an older gentleman on Youtube who claims reading with glasses actually makes myopia worse with time, due to the way it affects the shape of the eyeballs. Look up Tod Becker.
- andrewzah 6y ago
  Really? We're taking medical advice from random people on youtube? How is this any different from a youtuber claiming the earth is flat or vaccines cause autism?
buss 6y ago
I have hypermyopia (-12.5 left, -13 right) and my sister has 20/15 vision. Same childhood environment as her and I needed glasses before I could even read, let alone before I ever played a video game. It's well beyond a genetic predisposition, it was a genetic guarantee for me.

frankohn 6y ago

The predisposition to myopia is genetic but one becomes myopic due to an environmental factor: the lack of exposure to sunlight. It is because of the lack to regular exposure to sunlight that people who study and spend a lot of time in homes can develop myopia if they are genetically predisposed. Focusing on nearby objects does not lead to myopia. Doing gymnastics with the eyes has no effect. Likewise, using under-sized glasses has no effect on myopia. Here a supporting article about Inuit populations developed myopia just in one generation because of changes in lifestyle reducing outdoor activities: https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120 https://www.nature.com/news/the-myopia-boom-1.17120

Geee 6y ago
As a kid, I remember that my myopia disappeared after one summer when I was outdoors a lot. Then it came back soon after returning to school.
- itwy 6y ago
  I don't think it works like that.
  - meowface 6y ago
    It does seem like a convenient "just-so" anecdote, and I've never experienced or heard of myopia just going away like that, but I also don't think it sounds completely implausible.
    - soylentcola 6y ago
      I'd imagine it's also less noticeable in scenarios when you don't need to read smaller letters from a distance as much (ie: when you are playing outside rather than sitting in class).
      - throwawayboise 6y ago
        Also in bright light your pupils are constricted so depth of field is greater. In dim light your pupils are dialated and depth of field is shallower. Same principle as a camera lens f-stop. So the perception that you see more clearly in bright outdoor conditions could be true.

bilegeek 6y ago

The factors weren't "childhood eyestrain and video games". The one consistent factor was the amount of bright light exposure in a study[1]; in other words, being indoors, away from bright sunlight, which is correlative to eyestrain and video games, not causative, because people tend to do those things indoors. If you read outdoors in bright light, it's not really worse than just hanging around in bright light. Couldn't find a non-paywalled PDF, sorry, but here's the original study: [1]https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(12)60701-6/fulltext#section-7c530872-6235-4433-899c-b3f276970189 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6... Also, it might have changed since then (2012). If there's since been a study refuting this one, let me know, because it's nigh-impossible to find between the glut of citation-free news sites and blog posts, and paywalled journals.

himinlomax 6y ago

The currently favored theory is that it's due to a lack of UV light reaching the eye. It's not (just) video games, it's (also) school and generally being indoors instead of out at midday.

young_unixer 6y ago
Since I learned that excess UV radiation burns the retina, I've started always wearing sunglasses outside. Should I stop?
- himinlomax 6y ago
  The way I understand it is that it only matters while the eye is still developing, so if you're over 10 it's too late anyway. The thing with UV more generally is that we've obviously evolved with them, so while they are dangerous in some respect we also depend on them. In this case, protecting your eyes too much early is probably detrimental, but not protecting them later on probably is as well.
stevebmark 6y ago
There's no such theory, and exposure to light brightness has nothing to do with myopia. Being outdoors causes less close up focus, which slows the progression of myopia.
- himinlomax 6y ago
  Not "light brightness," whatever that's supposed to mean, but UV light.

ekianjo 6y ago

> "myopia is purely genetic" I have never heard that Myopia is purely genetic. Where is that claim even coming from?

coldtea 6y ago
From tons of articles, medical advices, etc. that insist that "you don't develop myopia from reading, monitor work, video games, etc". They not not say that it's "purely genetic", but that's the impression one gets, that all those lifestyle params don't play any role... Wikipedia says it's "a mix of genetic and environmnetal factors", and includes all of the above factors I've mentioned. But I've read many times in the past decades articles insisting that those other things don't matter (and presenting it as the medical consensus)...
- outworlder 6y ago
  > From tons of articles, medical advices, etc. that insist that "you don't develop myopia from reading, monitor work, video games, etc". As an adult, it would certainly be an outstanding discovery if this did matter. Which is why I'm skeptical about these supposed glasses. Sounds like snake oil, quacks like snake oil. For children, teenagers and young adults: maybe. It's all about the eye shape, and children's bodies are still in development.
  - coldtea 6y ago
    >As an adult, it would certainly be an outstanding discovery if this did matter. Why not? It's not about being "still in development". All of our organs (heart, liver, knees, joints, ears) can deteriorate in various ways if we don't take care of them or abuse them in certain ways as adults (e.g. ears and loud music, especially on headphones, can lead to reduced hearing). Heart, well, we can have the heart of a 80 year old at 40 if we have the wrong lifestyle. So why not eyes as well? (Not to mention myopia usually rises over time in adults that have it - and they change glass perscriptions etc.), so it's clearly something that develops in adulthood too. Not to mention other things related to the eyes and their plasticity etc., like presbyopia, that strike at ~ 40-45 or so.

outworlder 6y ago

> myopia truly has an environmental component to it Very much possible. I only have anecdotal evidence, but if you plotted the amount of time I spent at home starting at a TV versus other kids, you will probably find interesting correlations. > , e.g. childhood eyestrain and video games. Why single out video games in particular? If there is a problem, the problem is the screen. Or rather, how close it is. It is unlikely to be related to the content. I wouldn't be surprised to learn about a feedback loop getting disrupted. For many organs in the body, an approximate shape will work just fine, who cares if an organ is slightly off by a few millimeters. Not so for the eyes.