Soaring short-sightedness among 20-year-olds
Do you struggle to see the TV from the sofa, or find yourself not being able to recognise someone from across the street?
Experts said myopia could be more common in more educated people because they have spent more time studying, less time outdoors in natural light and more time at computers (file photo)
You’re not alone, as soaring numbers of young people are suffering from short-sightedness, a study has found.
The condition, known as myopia, is rising, and is now nearly twice as common in those aged between 25 and 29 as those aged 55 to 59.
The UK researchers also found it is twice as prevalent in people who went to university compared with those who left school before the age of 16.
This could be because they spend more time studying and often have more after-school tuition, spend less time outdoors in natural light and use computers more regularly.
Researchers said it could be that there are genetic factors which link short-sightedness with myopia.
Or it could be that factors related to education, such as socio-economic status or the mother’s diet are responsible for the association.
Myopia is already the most common eye condition worldwide but experts said the prevalence is ‘significantly increasing’, especially in south east Asia, and in Europe, Australia and the United States, but to a lesser extent.
Researchers from King’s College London analysed data relating to more than 60,000 people from studies carried out between 1990 and 2013.
They found that those born in the 1960s or reaching higher education had double the chance of having the disease compared with participants born in the 1920s.
People born in the 1960s who finished university were at approximately four times the risk.
They found those aged 25 to 29 were the most likely to be short-sighted, with 47.2 per cent having myopia, compared to just 27.5 per cent in those aged 55 to 59.
The research is published in the journal Ophthalmology.
© Daily Mail, London