Up to 90 per cent of school dropouts in major Asian cities are suffering from myopia, short-sightedness, a recent study published in the journal the Lancet has suggested.
Experts said extraordinary rise in the problem is being caused by students working hard in school and missing out on outdoor light. “The higher prevalence of myopia in East Asian cities seems to be associated with increasing educational pressures, combined with life-style changes, which have reduced the time children spend outside,” said the Lancet. Among youth, the problem is often caused by an elongation of the eyeball. Experts said that up to one in five of these students could experience severe visual impairment and even blindness. While the major Asian counties are bearing the brunt, myopia affects only 10-20 per cent of those completing secondary education in the other part of the World.
According to Prof. Ian Morgan, who led this study, the average among Southeast Asians was as low as 20-30 per cent once. Experts say children in these regions suffer from a double whammy. Experts say it poses a major health problem. “They’ve gone from something like 20 per cent myopia in population to well over 80 per cent, heading for 90 per cent in young adults, and as they get adult it will just spread through the population,” said an expert.