"The worldwide prevalence of myopia and high myopia is projected to increase 2-fold (from 22%) and 5-fold (from 2%), respectively, from 2000 to 2050*
* Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA et al. Global Prevalence of Myopia and High Myopia and Temporal Trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016;123:1036-42"
"Myopia is now the most common refractive error in teenagers and young adults in most parts of the world*
* Gifford P, Gifford KL. The Future of Myopia Control Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci.;93:336-43
"There are over 80 million children worldwide with myopia*
* Siatkowski RM, Cotter SA, et al. Two-year multicenter, randomized, double-masked, placebo-controlled, parallel safety and efficacy study of 2% pirenzepine ophthalmic gel in children with myopia. J AAPOS 2008;12:332-339."
"The mean onset age of myopia is becoming increasingly younger: In 1983, it was 11 years old, whereas, in 2000, it was 8 years*
* Wolffsohn JS, Calossi A, Cho P, et al. Global trends in myopia management attitudes and strategies in clinical practice. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2016;39:106–16"
"Earlier onset of myopia is linked to faster progression, which in turn contributes to increased myopia severity and a higher risk of associated ocular pathologies like cataract, glaucoma, and retinal degenerations*
* Gifford P, Gifford KL. The Future of Myopia Control Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci.;93:336-43"
"Reducing the rate of myopia progression by 33% would lead to a reduction of 73% in the frequency of high myopia (< 5.00 D)*
* Brennan NA, Predicted reduction in high myopia for various degrees of myopia control, Cont. Lens Anterior Eye 35 (2012) e14–e15."
"Patients with high myopia have about a 1 in 2.6 chance of developing visual impairment in their lifetimes.*
*Tideman JWL, Snabel MCC, Tedja MS, et al. Association of axial length with risk of uncorrectable visual impairment for Europeans with myopia [published online October 20, 2016].JAMA Ophthalmol."
"High myopia is strongly associated with an increased risk of sight-threatening pathological ocular comorbidities, including retinal detachment, glaucoma, and cataract*
* Wolffsohn JS, Calossi A, Cho P, et al. Global trends in myopia management attitudes and strategies in clinical practice. Cont Lens Anterior Eye. 2016;39:106–16"
"Up to 90% of children & young adults in urbanized East Asian countries, such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, and Korea have myopia, and up to 20% have high myopia.
*Chua J, Wong TY. Myopia—The Silent Epidemic That Should Not Be Ignored. Ophthalmic JAMA. Ophthalmology. 2016."
"By 2055, it is estimated that Korea will have the highest rates of people with visual impairment as a result of myopia, followed by Singapore and then Europe*
* Tideman J, Snabel M, Tedja M, et al. Association of Axial Length With Risk of Uncorrectable Visual Impairment for Europeans With Myopia. JAMA Ophthalmology "
"The odds of a child having myopia is 46% if both parents are myopic, 31% if one parent is myopic and 22% if neither parent is myopic.*
*Morgan P. Is myopia control the next contact lens revolution? The Optician 2016"
"There are indications that a positive parental history of myopia plays a predominant role in the early onset of myopia in children between 6 and 14 years old.
*Gifford P, Gifford KL. The Future of Myopia Control Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci.;93:336-43 "
"Performing prolonged near tasks, like reading and gaming on portable devices, has been reported to increase the risk of myopia development in children.*
*Gifford P, Gifford KL. The Future of Myopia Control Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci.;93:336-43 "
"Myopia has been shown to progress more during winter months compared with summer months*
*Gifford P, Gifford KL. The Future of Myopia Control Contact Lenses. Optom Vis Sci.;93:336-43 "
"Small reductions in the rate of myopia can have a significant impact; each dioptre less is associated with a 42% reduced likelihood of severe retinal change. If a child who would normally develop into a -8.00DS myope ends up as a -5.00DS myope by way of some form of intervention, then the probability of retinal consequences is diminished by more than 80%.*
*Morgan P. Is myopia control the next contact lens revolution? The Optician 2016"