Epidemiologic research on the role of studying and urban environment in the development of myopia during school-age years.
Four hundred seventy-four Greek male subjects received an ophthalmologic examination and completed a questionnaire. The following were found: (1) the years of studying and urban residence are factors that strongly influence the prevalence of myopia; discriminant factor analysis classified correctly 81% of the subjects into the myopic or the nonmyopic group; (2) the incidence of myopia is significantly higher in the studying v the nonstudying groups; (3) the prevalence of myopia is higher in the more educated group; (4) there is no statistical difference between the orientation of myopes and nonmyopes toward studies or other occupations; (5) although the presence of myopia is determined by the years of studying and urban residence, the degree of myopia is not influenced to a statistically significant level by these factors; and (6) the results indicate that the interaction of these two variables is more significant in their contribution to the onset of myopia than the sum of each variable alone.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004493:Education; D006115:Greece; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000209:etiology*; D011932:Reading; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population