Refractive Errors and Factors Associated with Myopia in an Adult Japanese Population

doi:10.1016/S0021-5155(02)00620-2

Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology

Volume 47, Issue 1, January–February 2003, Pages 6-12

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0021-5155(02)00620-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the refractive status and factors associated with myopia by a population-based survey of Japanese adults.

Methods: A total of 2168 subjects aged 40 to 79 years, randomly selected from a local community, were assessed in a cross-sectional study. The spherical equivalent of the refractive error was calculated and used in a multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the relationships between myopia and possible related factors.

Results: The mean (± SD) of the spherical equivalent was −0.70 ± 1.40 diopters (D) in men, and −0.50 ± 1.44 D in women. Based on ± 0.5 D cutoff points, the prevalence of myopia, emmetropia, and hypermetropia were 45.7%, 40.8%, and 13.5% in men, and 38.3%, 43.1%, and 18.6% in women, respectively. A 10-year increase in age was associated with reduced risk of myopia [men: odds ratio (OR) = 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44–0.62; women: OR = 0.65, 95% CI: 0.54–0.78]. In men, myopia was significantly associated with higher education (high school: OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.1–2.3; college: OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.3–3.1) and management occupations (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.0–2.4). For women, high income (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1–2.2), and clerical (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.4) and sales/service occupations (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1–2.6) were also associated with myopia.

Conclusions: The prevalence of myopia in a Japanese population was similar to that in other Asian surveys but higher than in black or white populations. Our study confirmed a higher prevalence of myopia among younger vs. older populations, and a significant association with education levels and socioeconomic factors.

Introduction

Earlier studies have shown that the prevalence of myopia is higher in the Asian population than in black and white populations,¹ and several epidemiological studies have shown that both genetic factors, such as race² and family history,2, 3, 4, 5 and environmental factors, such as education level6, 7, 8 and socioeconomic status,9, 10, 11 are important risk factors for myopia. The prevalence of myopia seems to be increasing worldwide.1, 12 In particular, the incidence of myopia has increased rapidly in younger generations over the past few decades,13, 14, 15 and the concurrent increase in formal education and white-collar occupations may be a reason for this increase.¹

In Japan, however, there has been no population-based survey investigating the refractive status in an adult population. Although a nationwide glaucoma survey¹⁶ showed the prevalence of refractive errors by age, other factors related to myopia have not yet been analyzed.

In the present study, we investigated the refractive status of middle-aged to elderly populations living in two communities in Aichi prefecture, Japan. In addition, the relationships between myopia and several other factors, such as age, physique, education level, and socioeconomic status, were examined.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Data for the present report were obtained from a population-based survey of aging conducted in Obu-shi and Higashiura-cho, Aichi prefecture, Japan, by the National Institute for Longevity Sciences—the Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA). Random sampling from the municipal register, which was stratified by age and sex, identified eligible subjects of the same racial and ethnic origin, aged from 40 to 79 years.

A detailed description of this study design has been reported elsewhere.¹⁷ In brief,

Results

The characteristics of the study population are presented in Table 1. The mean age was 58.7 years for each sex. The mean (± SD) spherical equivalent of the refractive error was −0.70 ± 1.40 D in men and −0.50 ± 1.44 D in women. This constituted a significant difference between the sexes (t-test, P = .001). The older age groups had more hypermetropic refractive errors in both sexes (P < .0001 for trend).

The mean value for pack-years smoked was significantly greater for men than for women (t

Discussion

The main findings of this investigation in a large Japanese population are that the prevalence of myopia was 45.7% in men and 38.3% in women, and that there are significant independent associations between the presence of myopia and several socioeconomic factors.

There are many studies examining the distribution of refractive error and the risk factors for the refractive errors. In an adult population, it has been reported that there is a significant association between myopia and several

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by Health Sciences Research Grants (Research on Eye and Ear Sciences, Immunology, Allergy and Organ Transplantation; H12-kannkakuki-009) from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, Japan.

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Laboratory investigationsRefractive Errors and Factors Associated with Myopia in an Adult Japanese Population

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

Ophthalmology

Vision Res

Epidemiology of myopia

Epidemiol Rev

Familial clustering and myopia progression in Singapore school children

Ophthalmic Epidemiol

Familial aggregation and prevalence of myopia in the Framingham Offspring Eye Study

Arch Ophthalmol

Impact of heredity in myopia

Hum Hered

Genes and environment in refractive errorthe twin eye study

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Refractive status in the Beaver Dam Eye Study

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Prevalence and risk factors for refractive errors in an adult inner city population

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Intelligence, education, and myopia in males

Arch Ophthalmol

Prevalence and risk factors of myopia in Victoria, Australia

Arch Ophthalmol

Prevalence and risk factors for refractive errors in adult Chinese in Singapore

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Refractive errors in a black adult populationthe Barbados Eye Study

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

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Acta Ophthalmol Scand

Population studies—myopia experience in Japan

Acta Ophthalmol

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Acta Ophthalmol (Copenh)

“Myopisation”the refractive tendency in teenagers. Prevalence of myopia among young teenagers in Sweden

Acta Ophthalmol Scand

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Jpn J Ophthalmol

A new comprehensive study on aging—the National Institute for Longevity Sciences, Longitudinal Study of Aging (NILS-LSA)

J Epidemiol

Laboratory investigations
Refractive Errors and Factors Associated with Myopia in an Adult Japanese Population