Prevalence of Myopia in 19-year-old Korean Males: The Relationship between the Prevalence and Education or Urbanization

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: To study the relationship between the prevalence of myopia and both urbanization and increased education level. METHODS: We performed noncycloplegic autorefraction in 12, 207 nineteen-year-old Korean conscripts. In order to analyze the relationship between prevalence of myopia and urbanization, we divided the subjects into two groups urban and rural. To analyze the relationship between the prevalence of myopia and the level of education, we categorized the subjects into three groups college education (>or=13 years), high school education (10-12 years), and primary education (prevalence of myopia (<-1.0D) and high myopia (<-6.0D) was determined and compared among the groups of different living environments and education levels.

RESULTS:

The prevalence of myopia and high myopia was 56.4% and 12.9% overall, 58.1% and 13.7% in urban residents, 41.0% and 5.6% in rural residents, 59.2% and 14.2% in the college education group, 55.1% and 12.2% in the high school education group, and 34.9% and 12.9% in the primary education group, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS:

Although genetic factors are known to play the most important role in the development of myopia, our study showed that the prevalence of myopia was associated with environmental factors. Myopia was found to be more prevalent in urban environment than rural environment. We also found that myopia was more frequently found in the group of higher education. In contrast, high myopia was associated only with urbanization.