The fight for children's eyesight

Global prevalence of myopia in children and adolescents is set to reach 40% by 2050, exceeding 740 million cases.

Reducing incidence and slowing progression is essential, as myopia is linked to sight-threatening complications like retinal detachment, myopic macular degeneration, and glaucoma. Dr. Annegret Dahlmann-Noor explores the reasons behind this increase and what we can do to halt the trend.

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Further reading 

• McCullough SJ, O’Donoghue L, Saunders KJ. Six Year Refractive Change among White Children and Young Adults: Evidence for Significant Increase in Myopia among White UK Children. PLoS ONE 2016; 11: e0146332.

• Liang J, Pu Y, Chen J, et al. Global prevalence, trend and projection of myopia in children and adolescents from 1990 to 2050: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Ophthalmol 2025; 109:362–371.

• Lawrenson JG, Huntjens B, Virgili G, et al. Interventions for myopia control in children: a living systematic review and network meta‐analysis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2025; 2: CD014758.

• Red Light Myopia study

• Dahlmann-Noor AH, Ghorbani-Mojarrad N, Williams KM, et al. 2024 UK and Ireland modified Delphi consensus on myopia management in children and young people. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2024; 44: 1368–1391.