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Published on: April 3, 2016
Association between sleep and myopia in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Eric Jin1, Chae Eun Lee1, Hengtong Li2,3
1Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Insights
Sleep duration does not impact myopia prevalence in children. However, other sleep factors like quality and timing may offer protection, though more research is needed to confirm these findings.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Myopia is rising globally in children.
- Early prevention strategies for myopia are crucial.
- Limited research exists on sleep's role in childhood myopia.
Conclusions:
- Sleep duration is not a significant factor in childhood myopia prevalence.
- Other sleep aspects may influence myopia development, but evidence is inconclusive.
- Further research with diverse populations and standardized methods is required.
Purpose:
There is a scarcity of literature focusing on sleep's impact on myopia in children despite an epidemic rise of myopia among the age group and the importance of early prevention. As such, this systematic review-meta-analysis aims to evaluate the association between various aspects of sleep and myopia in children and adolescents aged 0-19 years.
Methods:
We searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library on 08/12/2022 for studies reporting sleep in relation to myopia among children and adolescents. Myopia was defined as spherical equivalent refraction < -0.5 diopter. The primary outcome was the relationship between sleep duration and myopia prevalence. Secondary outcomes include the effect of sleep quality, bedtime, and waketime on myopia prevalence, incidence, and progression. Odds ratio (OR) was estimated with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI).
Results:
Eighteen studies (49,277 participants) were included in the review, and six studies (14,116 participants) were included in the meta-analysis for the primary outcome. There was no significant correlation between sleep and myopia prevalence (OR = 0.905, 95% CI = 0.782 to 1.047). Some studies suggested that better sleep quality (2 of 6 studies), earlier bedtime (3 of 5 studies), and later waketimes (2 of 3 studies) had protective effects on myopia.
Conclusion:
Sleep duration did not affect myopia prevalence in children, while other aspects of sleep had plausible but inconclusive impacts on myopia development and progression. More research with diverse populations and standardized methods of reporting is needed.
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