title: Association of education and occupation with myopia in COMET parents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate refractive error, especially myopia, in parents of myopic children and its association with education and occupation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six hundred twenty-seven parents (n = 375 mothers and 252 fathers) of the 469 myopic 6- to <12-year-old children enrolled in COMET provided refraction data as well as answered questions about their education and occupation. Eighty-five percent of the refractions were obtained by non-cycloplegic autorefraction (Nidek ARK 700A), and 15% were obtained from the most recent prescription.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age ± SD of the parents was 44.26 ± 5.81 years, and their mean spherical equivalent refraction was -2.34 ± 2.94 D. Parents with higher education (college degree or greater) had significantly more myopia (-2.97 ± 2.98 D) than parents with lower education (-1.72 ± 2.76 D). The odds of being myopic were significantly higher in the higher education group (multivariate odds ratio = 2.12, 95% confidence interval = 1.41 to 3.19). Mean myopia also differed significantly by occupation, with parents in white collar jobs (-2.87 ± 3.10 D) significantly more myopic than those in blue collar jobs (-1.21 ± 2.02 D) by 1.66 D (p < 0.001). The odds of being myopic between the two occupation groups were of borderline significance (multivariate odds ratio = 1.61, 95% confidence interval = 0.999 to 2.60).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The parents of myopic children participating in a clinical trial of lenses to slow the progression of myopia had a high prevalence of myopia that was associated with their level of education and to a lesser extent with their choice of occupation. To our knowledge, this is the first account of refractive errors, education, and occupation in parents of a large group of myopic children.
authors.affiliation: Vision Science Department, The New England College of Optometry, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gwiazda
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Lynette
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Marsh-Tootle
mesh_terms: D000065:Accommodation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents; D018450:Disease Progression; D004522:Educational Status; D005139:Eyeglasses; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009790:Occupations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010290:Parents; D015995:Prevalence; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014787:Vision Tests; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology