Manolito Gafotas, a 1990s literary character created by Spanish writer Elvira Lindo, already had one of his top three wishes, being able to see well without the glasses he hated so much. This annoying myopia for Manolito has become one of the great pandemics of the 21st century. But if there have always been children with glasses, is it true that there are more short-sighted people today?
Let’s look back almost a hundred years, to the time when our grandparents and great-grandparents were still small. In 1928, a paper by several researchers was published in the journal Public Health Bulletin showing that only 3.8% of children between the ages of 6 and 14 in the United States were myopic. On the other hand, 21.6% of them suffered from farsightedness. Almost fifty years later, in the 1970s, the prevalence of myopia in people between the ages of 12 and 17 rose to 25% and at the beginning of this century to almost 34%.
More information
If we look at Asian countries, the growth is even more worrying as in many countries in this region the proportion of children and adolescents is over 80%. In Spain, a recent study by AMIRES (Association of High Myopia with Retinopathies) showed that the number of children with myopia tripled between the second and sixth grades. It is estimated that by 2050 half of the world’s population will be short-sighted.
Lifestyle changes: a possible explanation
Something changed a century ago that made the prevalence jump so impressive. The connection between myopia and genetics is obvious: it’s much easier to experience it when our parents suffer from it. And the greater the weight of this genetic predisposition, the greater the myopia (if it is more than 5-6 diopters, then it is considered magna or pathological).
That hasn’t changed, but – essentially – our habits have: the distance at which we focus our eyes throughout the day. Our grandparents and great-grandparents spent a lot of time looking from afar. They didn’t have the opportunity to study and of course they spent their free time playing in the street where everything is far away (think six meters is optically infinite).
Although children in the last decades of the 20th century spent a lot of time learning, they continued to devote their free time to outdoor activities. And in the 21st century, they already spend most of the day looking closely, both to learn and to play.
For example, according to a 2021 meta-analysis, staring at cell phone or tablet screens for hours at a time would increase the risk of myopia by 30% in people aged 3 months to 33 years. And that percentage would rise to 80% if you add in excessive computer use.
But let’s not make the mistake of blaming the radiation from the screens, but rather the distance at which these devices are used. In a way, for lovers of anthropology, perhaps we are just faced with man’s adaptation to the environment. Life is now lived up close.
Consequences (severe) of myopia
But what difference does it make to my son’s diopter if the problem can be solved with glasses or contact lenses? It is not so easy. Although in most cases myopia is a non-pathological visual disorder, if it progresses excessively, it can lead to associated pathologies such as retinal detachment, myopic maculopathies, optic nerve disorders or glaucoma. These diseases mainly appear in adulthood and lead to blindness in the most severe cases.
We must not forget that pathological myopia is the number one complaint among members of the Spanish National Organization for the Blind (ONCE). In addition, poor eyesight has intangible effects on quality of life, such as: B. the dependency on vision corrections and occupational or sporting limitations, which are all the more serious the further the disorder progresses.
What can we do?
Various therapeutic interventions have been developed over the past decade to minimize the growth of myopia in children. Currently there are drugs such as atropine that are administered in the form of drops; Contact lenses for night use (e.g. orthokeratology) and day use (e.g. peripheral blurring lenses); or even glasses with lenses that have been tried and tested.
Scientific evidence suggests that all of these procedures result in a 35% to 60% reduction in the increase in myopia. Its effectiveness has been proven, but the mechanism by which it slows down the growth of the eyes, which is responsible for the progression of the visual defect, is not yet fully understood.
In any case, check-ups by specialists such as ophthalmologists and opticians are essential for children in order to be able to treat myopia correctly and as quickly as possible.
Perhaps the adult Manolito Gafotas from 2023 would be more myopic than a current child character, as he would benefit from any of the treatments mentioned above. And although in 2050 you would still be among the short-sighted half of humanity, the risk of eye complications from this unstoppable phenomenon of our time would probably be lower.
Juan Gonzalo Carracedo Rodriguez He is Professor of Optometry and Vision at the Complutense University of Madrid
This article was originally published on The Conversation.
you can follow THE COUNTRY Health and well-being on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
