Unfortunately, it does exist. It is a statistical reality that is present in our consultations every day. The frequency with which we see children under 10 years old who develop myopia is increasing year after year.

The main cause currently associated with this increase in myopes in population groups of increasingly younger ages is our lifestyle. That is, excessive time dedicated to tasks that require visual effort at close and intermediate distances: use of devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers.

Unfortunately, there is not much published on the epidemiology of myopia that allows us to know either the incidence or the prevalence in the Spanish population under 18 years of age; Although a 2019 research article placed the prevalence of myopia in a sample of more than 5,000 children between 5 and 7 years old, from different autonomous communities, at close to 20%. This figure would be comparable to that observed in other Western European countries.

Yes, we know that approximately a third of the world’s population was myopic in 2020, and the forecast, if we continue the progression demonstrated so far, is that myopes will be just over half of the world’s population in 2050.

Prevention is indeed the basis of medicine, and in the case of myopia we have several strategies to at least prevent or slow down the progression of myopia once it has established. Measures to control myopia are grouped into 3 categories according to their characteristics:

1. Optical control: adequate correction.
2. Influence on lifestyle: limiting time spent on close-up tasks and increasing outdoor activities.
3. Pharmacological and therapeutic control: in cases where a high risk of myopic progression is detected. In this section we include preventive treatments with diluted atropine eye drops for at least one year.

Taking care of visual health in the first years of life is a task shared by pediatricians and ophthalmologists. In a healthy child, with normal psychomotor development, the first check-up by an ophthalmology specialist is recommended between 3 and 4 years of age.

Starting with the first visit at the age of 3 years, without taking into account other aspects that may influence the future development of refractive errors such as family history, it would be advisable to have a review every 2 years until reaching adulthood. This would ensure early detection of myopia, adequate correction of it and, of course, monitoring and control of said refractive error. If there is a family history, an annual review would be most appropriate.

The main limit should be the time dedicated to its use: avoid continuous work exclusively on fences.

Indeed, when we talk about controlling myopia by influencing lifestyle habits, we are referring precisely to measures such as the following:

• Limiting the intensity and extent of close work, interrupting it with breaks of at least 10 minutes every hour and a half or 2 hours, in which attention is focused on looking towards infinity. Looking through a window would be an example. Very important measure to prevent the progression of myopia.
• Encouraging at least 2 hours a day of outdoor activity. Very important measure to prevent the establishment of myopia.

Myopia is a consequence of a variable combination of non-modifiable factors, such as genetic inheritance, with other modifiable factors, which are our lifestyle habits and its adequate correction. It is estimated that the genetic basis defines our susceptibility to developing myopia and the rest are the environmental factors that influence this predisposition.