Hypothesis: Low vitamin D linked to Myopia

Created May 2010

The White House mentioned 2010 that myopia was rapidly increasing in recent decades along with obesity.

When I get a hint that a health problem may be related to Vitamin D I use Google to check how many, if any, of the following are documented/suspected

has it increased significantly in the past 40 years
it is worse for dark skinned people
is there a latitude affect
is it related to Calcium
is there a seasonal affect
Problem occurs around the world
Overweight - fat ties up a lot of vitamin D and the obese often do not feel comfortable out of doors
Age - the skin of a person 65 years old generates only about 1/4 the amount of vitamin D as that of a person in their 20's
Smoking - ties up vitamin D
Alcohol
Stress
Medical problems which reduce vitamin D - MS, kidney, gut, liver, kidney...
Dark skin - who get about 1/4 the amount of vitamin D per minute in the sun as those with light skin
Atmospheric haze - which reduces the UVB getting to the people
Problem get worse when taking a drug which reduces vitamin D
Taking a large enough vitamin D is found to decrease the problem incidence - for other than Rickets, more than 2,000 IU is often needed
A Patent has been issued for Vitamin D to treat or prevent a medical problem
- such as: Breast cancer, Obesity, Bone loss, Prostate, MS, Fall prevention, Fracture healing, Cardiovascular, Immune system, reduce scars, Kidney disease, Diabetes, Renal , etc.
Clinical trials are underway - especially if the clinical trials are at the intervention stage

CLICK HERE for Criteria to suspect vitamin D]

Myopia quickly got 4 points = suspected

1 point : Myopia has increased 70% the past 40 years among whites (25% of whites -> 42% of whites) http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-news.htm

1 point East Asian students were 11X more likely to have myopia in Australia (link from Sardi)

has increased almost 3X in American Negros in recent decades

1 point It was first reported in 1938 that low level of Calcium was related to myopia (attached to this Wiki page) - Sardi also mentions it in several examples.

Also http://users.skynet.be/sky52523/en/workshop/vision/nutrition.htm

1/2 point Sardi: “We first get a hint of a major environmental factor when we realize the progression of myopia among school-aged children is slower during summer holidays”. (this could be do to lack of reading strain, so only give it 1/2 point)

1/2 point Sardi: There is definitely a greater chance of developing severe myopia in low sunshine areas.

Excellent post by Bill Sardi which described the probable link: http://www.lewrockwell.com/sardi/sardi148.htm Jan 2010

He requested that it not be reposted (probably wants the advertising income)

Light, literacy and the absence of ultraviolet radiation in the development of myopia.

Med Hypotheses. 2008;70(3):635-7. Epub 2007 Sep 4. Prepas SB.

Eye Physician and Surgeon, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, 360 San Miguel Dr. #407, Newport Beach, CA 92651, United States. sbprepas@sbcglobal.net

As the prevalence of myopia steadily increases, reaching as high as 90% in some populations, investigators continue to look for causative factors other than family history. Most current research suggests an association of axial myopia with reading or either the presence or absence of light. Even though these studies are frequently inconsistent, non-reproducible or contradictory, many clinicians utilize them in recommending treatments for children, such as bifocals or atropine. By reviewing the biologic effects of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields, we may gain insight into these discrepancies as well as unify the combined role of literacy and light in the pathogenesis of myopia. These biologic effects are wavelength specific. The wavelength of artificial (either incandescent or fluorescent) light is primarily 700-400 nm, while the wavelength of natural light is 700-200 nm, inclusive of the ultraviolet spectrum. So the opposite findings of myopia resulting from either accommodation under continuous light or under darkness (form deprivation) can be reconciled by restating it: Close focusing in the absence of UV light may provoke axial myopia. Experimental evidence exhibiting both scleral remodeling under accommodation as well as the inhibition of scleral remodeling by the hardening of collagen under ultraviolet exposure may support this concept. Perhaps new research can look into the role of the presence or absence of UV light in animal models of myopia. PMID: 17804172

Increased Myopia if 3rd trimester was the Spring

Season of Birth, Daylight Hours at Birth, and High Myopia

Volume 116, Issue 3, Pages 468-473 (March 2009)

George McMahon, MSc12, Tetyana Zayats, MD1, Yen-Po Chen, MD1, Ankush Prashar, PhD1, Cathy Williams, PhD, FRCOphth2, Jeremy A. Guggenheim, PhD

Received 14 July 2008; received in revised form 7 October 2008; accepted 7 October 2008. published online 20 January 2009.

Purpose: Mandel et al recently reported that season of birth and daylight hours (photoperiod) at birth were associated with moderate and high levels of myopia in Israeli conscripts. We sought to investigate whether these associations were evident in subjects from the United Kingdom (UK).

Design: Retrospective cross-sectional study.

Participants: The study population comprised 74,459 subjects aged 18 to 100 years attending UK optometry practices for an eye examination.

Methods: Data comprising non-cycloplegic spectacle prescription, sex, date of birth, and date of eye examination were collected from UK optometry practices. The average refractive error in fellow eyes was used to classify the degree of myopia in diopters (D) for each subject as follows: absent (>?0.75 D), low (?0.75 to ?2.99 D), moderate (?3.00 to ?5.99 D), or high (📄 Download the PDF from VitaminDWiki**

Nearsightedness Increasing in U.S. Wired Magazine Dec 2009

25% in 1970's 42% 3 decades later = 1.7X increase
moderate nearsightedness doubling between the two time periods =2.0X increase
blacks: 13 to 34 percent over the three-decade span = 2.6X increase

Sunny treatment for diseases: updates on vitamin D deficiency and sufficiency PharMed News

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to myopia in the Asia-Pacific region. Results show that 90% of conscription-aged Singaporean males are myopic .

This is a dramatic increase compared to the incidence of 20 to 30% about 40 years ago. a 3.6X increase

Comment by VitaminDWiki

Lower vitamin D due to Air conditioning and 34+ other reasons