April 2014
Volume 55, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   April 2014
Myopia is associated with lower Vitamin D status in young adults.
Alex W Hewitt; Seyhan Yazar; Lucinda J Black; Charlotte M McKnight; Jenny Mountain; Wendy H Oddy; Minas T Coroneo; Robyn Lucas; David A Mackey
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Alex W Hewitt
    Centre for Eye Research Australia, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
    Centre for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Western Australia; Lions Eye Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Seyhan Yazar
    Centre for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Western Australia; Lions Eye Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Lucinda J Black
    Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Charlotte M McKnight
    Centre for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Western Australia; Lions Eye Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Jenny Mountain
    Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Wendy H Oddy
    Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Minas T Coroneo
    Department of Ophthalmology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  • Robyn Lucas
    Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health Research, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
    National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
  • David A Mackey
    Centre for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, University of Western Australia; Lions Eye Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships Alex Hewitt, None; Seyhan Yazar, None; Lucinda Black, None; Charlotte McKnight, None; Jenny Mountain, None; Wendy Oddy, None; Minas Coroneo, None; Robyn Lucas, None; David Mackey, None
  • Footnotes
    Support None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science April 2014, Vol.55, 1273. doi:
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      Alex W Hewitt, Seyhan Yazar, Lucinda J Black, Charlotte M McKnight, Jenny Mountain, Wendy H Oddy, Minas T Coroneo, Robyn Lucas, David A Mackey; Myopia is associated with lower Vitamin D status in young adults.. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2014;55(13):1273.

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Abstract

Purpose: Myopia is a complex disease caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Outdoor activity has previously been shown to be protective against the development of myopia. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between myopia and Vitamin D status in young adults.

Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 946 of individuals participating in the 20-year follow-up of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study was performed. Ethnicity, parental myopia and education status were collected by self-reported questionnaire. A comprehensive ophthalmic examination was performed, including post-cycloplegic autorefraction and conjunctival UV autofluorescence photography. A blood sample collected was analysed for 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrations. Mann Whitney U test was used to evaluate the association between serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations and prevalence of myopia as well as multivariable logistic regression adjusting for potential confounders. Myopia was defined as mean spherical equivalent ≤ -0.5 diopters.

Results: Myopic participants (n=221; 23.4%) had lower 25(OH)D3 concentrations compared to non-myopic participants (p=0.003). In univariable analysis, the prevalence of myopia decreased with increasing serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations (OR 0.88; 95CI% 0.82 - 0.94; p <0.001 per 10 nmol/L increase). After adjusting for potential confounders, including age, sex, ethnicity, parental myopia, education status and sun-exposure, individuals in the highest tertile of serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations were less likely to be myopic that those in the lowest tertile (OR 0.60; 95%CI 0.40-0.91; p=0.015).

Conclusions: The prevalence of myopia decreased in association with increasing serum 25(OH)D3 concentration. Individuals with higher vitamin D status were at decreased risk of myopia. Further studies are warranted to investigate whether higher serum 25(OH)D3 concentration is protective against myopia or whether it is acting as an indicator of sun exposure.

Keywords: 605 myopia  
© 2014, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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