3 Topic Commentaries

Outdoor artificial nighttime light may raise childhood myopia risk

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  Carl Kupfer, MD

  Ophthalmology

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  National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health

  Identifying the causes of myopia is a high research priority of the National Eye Institute because myopia affects up to 25 percent of the US adult population. Drs. Stone, Quinn, and colleagues have generated a hypothesis about a possible risk factor for myopia. However, in independent studies, Drs. Gwiazda and Zadnik have found no evidence that room lighting during sleep in infancy affects the development of myopia. Additional data in support of the hypothesis are needed before we can conclude that the use of nighttime lighting during infancy affects the development of myopia.

  Source
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  Lisa A. Ostrin, OD, PhD

  Optometry

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  University of Houston College of Optometry

  The strongest evidence is that children who spend more time outdoors have less nearsightedness, so now we are trying to find out why that is happening.

  Source
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  Karla Zadnik, OD, PhD

  Optometry

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  The Ohio State University

  We found no link between nighttime lighting and the development of childhood myopia.

  Source