Commonly Held Beliefs About Myopia That Lack a Robust Evidence Base

To subject a number of commonly held beliefs or areas of confusion in the myopia field to scientific scrutiny.

A collection of statements about myopia are provided with references to demonstrate that a section of the research or clinical community supports the statement. The topics under discussion are reviewed critically with reference to the literature.

The following statements are considered to lack sufficient supporting data to be considered as evidence-based: low-dose (0.01%) atropine slows myopia progression; relative peripheral hyperopia leads to myopia development and progression in children; undercorrection slows myopia progression; percentage treatment effect remains constant with continuing treatment; percentage treatment effect applies across the progression range; hand-held digital devices contribute to the myopia epidemic; more time outdoors slows myopia progression; the impact of outdoor activity on myopia incidence is due to daylight; subclassifications for myopia are effective; and myopia is a condition with a negative dioptric number.

There are many hypotheses proposed to explain phenomena in the myopia field. Caution should be exercised in adopting conjecture until a robust evidence base is provided in support.