Myopia prevalence in Finland doubled from 1930s to 1950s birth cohorts and is linked to educational attainment.
Myopia was about twice as common in young Finnish adults as in older adults.
Myopia prevalence in Finland doubled from 1930s to 1950s birth cohorts and is linked to educational attainment.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence of myopia and factors associated with the increase of myopia prevalence in Finland between two generations and discuss the reasons why myopia has not increased similarly as in many Asian countries.
A questionnaire assessing factors potentially related to myopia was sent out in 1983 to all residents born in 1957 (aged 26 at the time) and 1937 (aged 46) residing in the Jyväskylä region in Central Finland.
over a third of young adults had myopia, far more than older adults
In a multivariate logistic regression model, the factors most strongly associated with myopia were higher educational attainment, being born in 1957, and female sex.
The lowest unadjusted prevalences for myopia were observed in 26- and 46-year-old men with a basic school education (8.6% and 7.9%), while the highest prevalences were found in 26- and 46-year-old women with a higher-secondary school education (52.7% and 36.0%).
The adjusted prevalence of myopia was higher in the younger age group across all sex and education categories.
Myopia prevalence among 25-year-olds was approximately double that of 46-year-olds in this study.
This is likely associated with an increase in educational attainment, underscoring a role of education in the development of myopia within this population.
The general improvement in living conditions has probably also had an impact on the change.