The Age-Specific Prevalence of Myopia in Asia: A Meta-analysis

Purpose. To estimate the age-specific prevalence of myopia in Asia. Methods. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science from their inception through September 2013 for population-based surveys reporting the prevalence of myopia in adults or children in Asia. We pooled the prevalence estimates for myopia by age groups and by year of birth using a random-effects model. Results. We identified 50 eligible population-based studies including 215,672 subjects aged 0 to 96 years reporting the prevalence of myopia from 16 Asian countries or regions. Myopia was found to be most prevalent (96.5%; 95% confidence interval, 96.3 to 96.8) in Koreans aged 19 years. There was no significant linear age group effect on the prevalence of myopia in the whole Asian population but there was a U-shaped relationship between both age and year of birth and the prevalence of myopia. The prevalence of myopia was also higher in those older than 70 years (36.3%; 95% confidence interval, 27.6 to 45.0) compared with other age groups, which revealed nuclear cataract-myopia shifts in refraction. Conclusions. There is a large variation in the age-specific prevalence of myopia in Asia. A U-shaped relationship between age and the prevalence of myopia was found in the whole Asian population. The analysis is essential to guide future eye health care, intervention, and clinical management in Asia.