There are more and more myopes and at younger ages. Blurred vision, squinting to see in the distance, getting too close to objects, blinking excessively, or having headaches. These are some of the signs of the appearance of this condition in children. And it’s not just the screens that are to blame. Also about a habit that we are losing: spending more time outdoors.
Now, research promoted by the Department of Ophthalmology at the Clínica Universidad de Navarra has quantitatively concluded that Greater sun exposure protects against myopia. To reach this conclusion, specialists have measured the area of the CUVAF biomarker, a spot on the ocular surface caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation in the conjunctiva of the eye, which is larger in patients without this ocular problem.
«Taking into account the CUVAF provides us with an objective number to establish the relationship between the time that minors spend outdoors and the progression of myopia. We have confirmed that subjects who spend fewer hours per week away from home suffer more from this eye problem. Therefore, it is important to consider it as a key biomarker,” explains Dr. Sergio Recalde, researcher at the Clinic’s Experimental Ophthalmology Laboratory.
The study, published in the journal ‘Frontiers in Medicine’, included 263 participants between the ages of 6 and 17 who had this area of the eye measured in consultation with special equipment.
The results obtained reveal that the general onset of myopia occurs after the age of 8 and that myopic children spent significantly fewer hours outdoors per week, compared to the control group. Furthermore, the researchers found statistically relevant differences in the CUVAF area, since this was smaller among minors with this condition, in relation to those who had correct vision.
«These data encourage us to continue insisting on the importance of minors spending time outdoors. It has been shown that the more time they spend on screens and activities that require only close vision, the greater the risk of myopia progressing,” concludes Dr. Recalde.
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