Four in five adolescents have myopia

By Jung Min-ho

Four in five adolescents aged 12 to 18 are near-sighted, according to a study conducted by the Korean Ophthalmological Society (KOS).

The KOS noted that the increased use of smartphones is a major cause of the problem.

The society found that 80.4 percent of teenagers have myopia, the highest incidence among all age groups of the population. Among these, 11.7 percent of them have excessive myopia, which could result in them eventually losing the sight entirely.

Given that myopia is “extremely” difficult to counter with medical treatment or surgery, the current trend does not bode well for the overall eye health of Korean citizens.

“The social cost for treating myopia will likely rise in 10 to 20 years as many more people are expected to get it,” Park Sung-pyo, director of public relations at the KOS, said.

The research shows that people, aged from 19 to 29, have the second highest incidence of myopia, with 75 percent suffering from it. Elderly people, aged from 60 to 69, have the lowest incidence with a comparatively low 18.5 percent showing the symptoms.

According to the KOS, the prevalence of myopia among elementary school students has increased dramatically over the past few years.

The organization said myopia in the 1970s within the same age group was merely eight to 15 percent; then, it shot up to 23 percent in 80s and to 38 percent in the 1990s.

According to the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning, the average Korean teenager spends 2.6 hours on their smartphone each day. The KOS believes that spending more than one hour using a smartphone could cause problems in a person’s vision.

“It is critical to try and prevent myopia before teenagers reach their 20s because it only occurs only when they are young,” said Chin Hee-seung, director of planning and management at the KOS.

““Many other countries have made great efforts to prevent children from developing myopia. Japan even has a ‘vision protection’ program on its physical education curriculum,” said KOS President Kim Man-soo.

He said the government needs to be more proactive about raising awareness of this increasingly serious issue.