Prevalence and Distribution of Refractive Errors Among Members of the U.S. Armed Forces and the U.S. Coast Guard,...

During calendar year 2019, the estimated prevalence of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism were 17.5%, 2.1%, and 11.2% in the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces and 10.1%, 1.2%, and 6.1% of the U.S. Coast Guard, respectively. The prevalence of spectacle correction in the active component of the U.S. Armed Forces was 24.0%, which included single-vision distance (92.0%), multifocal (eg, bifocal, 6.0%), and single-vision reading (2.0%) spectacles. In comparison, the prevalence of spectacle correction was 14.6% in the U.S. Coast Guard. Additionally, among all U.S. Armed Forces service members who received spectacle correction for distance vision in 2019, service members of the reserve component, military academy cadets, and the National Guard were significantly more myopic (near-sightedness) than the active component or Coast Guard (p<.001). Within the active component, the Air Force was the most myopic and the Marine Corps followed it closely. These 2 military branches were not significantly different from each other (p=.46) but both were significantly more myopic than the Navy or the Army (p<.001). The Navy was more myopic than the Army (p=.01). The U.S. Coast Guard was significantly less myopic than any other military branch (p=.03).