[Myopia and genetics].
The physiological manifestation of myopia is error of refraction. The incidence of myopia in Asian population is increasing much more rapidly compared with several decades ago. Most of the people in the relatively developed Chinese cities are developing or have developed myopia. Recently, researches reported six loci related to myopia. Viewing from the modern civilization and development of China, the sharp increase of the size of the population with myopia and the unbalanced change could not be explained only by gene mutation or any model of Mendelian inheritance. The comparison of the disparity of the economic and educational levels between in urban and rural areas showed that the onset of myopia might be influenced by both environmental and genetic factors. Special attention should be paid to myopia now to prevent severe physical problem in the Chinese urban population.
Weng
Lei-Ming
LM
Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, China. lmweng@genetics.ac.cn
Wang
Xin
X
Wang
Li
L
Jin
Feng
F
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004777:Environment; D005128:Eye Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006956:Hyperopia; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D012424:Rural Population; D014505:Urban Population