Relatively Stable Prevalence of Myopia among Swedish Children Aged 4 to 7 Years between 2015 and 2020

The global increase of myopia has caused a lot of debate the last years. Previous research of myopia in the Nordic population has shown diverse results, and only a few Swedish studies have been published in the subject the last two decades.

This study aimed to analyze trends in the prevalence of myopia in a population of Swedish children.

A retrospective analysis of medical records for children between 4 and 7 years of age in a region in Sweden was performed. The inclusion criterion was a first glasses prescription for myopia between 2012 and 2020. Children with other eye diseases or syndromes affecting the eye and vision were excluded. Age, sex, uncorrected visual acuity, and cycloplegic refractive values were extracted. The number of myopic children was compared with population data to calculate incidence and estimate prevalence.

During the study period, 427 children between 4 and 7 years old in an average population of 17,200 children were prescribed glasses for myopia. The incidence for myopia increased from 0.11% in 2012 to 0.39% in 2020 ( P < .05). In 2015 to 2020, the prevalence of myopia for the same age group increased from 0.5 to 1.2% ( P < .05). Linear regression of the prevalence of myopia showed a significant increase in the age group of 7 years ( β = 0.2%, R2 = 0.82, P ≤ .05).

This study found a relatively stable prevalence of myopia among Swedish children aged 4 to 7 years between 2015 and 2020. The prevalence of 1.6% among 7-year-old children is not higher than in previous Scandinavian studies.