September 2016
Volume 57, Issue 12
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   September 2016
Protective association of ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure on myopia risk, independent of years in education, and interaction with serum vitamin D in an adult European population (EUREYE)
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Katie Williams
    Departments of Ophthalmology & Twin Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
  • Ruth E Hogg
    Centre for Experimental Medicine, Institute of Clinical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Christopher J Hammond
    Departments of Ophthalmology & Twin Research, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
  • Usha Chakravarthy
    Centre for Experimental Medicine, Institute of Clinical Science, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
  • Mati Rahu
    Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, National Institute for Health Development, Tallinn, Estonia
  • Johan Seland
    Eye Department, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
  • Gisele Soubrane
    Department of Ophthalmology, Hotel Dieu de Paris, University Paris Descartes-1, Paris, France
  • Laura Tomazzoli
    Clinica Oculistica, Università degli Studi di Verona, Verona, Italy
  • Fotis Topouzis
    Department of Ophthalmology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine, Thessaloniki, Greece
  • Astrid Fletcher
    Faculty of Epidemiology & Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Katie Williams, None; Ruth Hogg, None; Christopher Hammond, None; Usha Chakravarthy, None; Mati Rahu, None; Johan Seland, None; Gisele Soubrane, None; Laura Tomazzoli, None; Fotis Topouzis, None; Astrid Fletcher, None
  • Footnotes
    Support  EUREYE was supported by the European Commission Vth Framework (QLK6-CT-1999-02094) with additional funding for cameras provided by the Macular Disease Society UK. M. Rahu was financed by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Science (target funding 01921112s02 and SF0940026s07). Funding for serum vitamin D analyses was provided by Guide Dogs for the Blind (OR2011-05d). KMW acknowledges financial support from a Medical Research Council (UK) Clinical Research Training Fellowship.
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science September 2016, Vol.57, No Pagination Specified. doi:
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      Katie Williams, Ruth E Hogg, Christopher J Hammond, Usha Chakravarthy, Mati Rahu, Johan Seland, Gisele Soubrane, Laura Tomazzoli, Fotis Topouzis, Astrid Fletcher; Protective association of ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure on myopia risk, independent of years in education, and interaction with serum vitamin D in an adult European population (EUREYE). Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2016;57(12):No Pagination Specified.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose : The protective effect of time spent outdoors on myopia risk is well established. We investigated the association of measures related to time spent outdoors, namely adult lifetime ultraviolet B (UVB) exposure and serum Vitamin D3 (25(OH)D3), with myopia.

Methods : EUREYE is a Europe-wide, cross-sectional, random population-based study. Participants underwent refraction and visual acuity measurement, were interviewed for adult lifetime outdoor exposure (from age 14), education, diet and medical history, and gave blood for antioxidant and 25(OH)D3 measurement. UVB exposure was calculated by combining meteorological and questionnaire data. Myopia was defined as mean spherical equivalent ≤-0.75 diopters or VA >0.3 LogMAR without optical correction. Based on 3168 participants (371 myopes, 2797 non-myopes, mean age at refraction = 72 years), we used logistic regression models to investigate the association of UVB, education and 25(OH)D3 with myopia.

Results : Lifetime UVB exposure was associated with reduced adjusted odds ratio (OR) of myopia (0.72 per one standard deviation increase of UVB, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.56-0.93). This association was strongest in late adolescence and early adulthood. Although individuals in the highest tertile of years of education had twice the OR of myopia (2.08, 95% CI 1.41-3.06), adjusting UVB exposure for years in education had minimal effect on the association. 25(OH)D3 was not directly associated with myopia risk, but there was an interaction between myopia, serum 25(OH)D3 and UVB with an additive effect on myopia risk for varying serum 25(OH)D3 levels. An unexpected finding was reduced odds of myopia for those with high levels of plasma lutein (5th quintile plasma lutein, OR myopia = 0.57, 95% CI 0.46-0.72).

Conclusions : Increased UVB exposure over adult life was associated with reduced odds of myopia, independent of years of education. This effect appeared greatest in younger adults and would suggest UVB may be one of the factors that contribute to the known beneficial effects of time spent outdoors. Our findings on an interaction between serum 25(OH)D3 levels, UVB and myopia risk and also an association between high plasma lutein and myopia require confirmation.

This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2016 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, Wash., May 1-5, 2016.

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