Geeks Get Glasses: Higher Levels of Education are Linked to Nearsightedness

Geeks wearing glasses isn't just a stereotype. Researchers have found that the likelihood that a person suffers from myopia - or nearsightedness - increases with their level of education.

A study published in the peer-reviewed journal Ophthalmology details how the average person's chance of developing myopia, and the severity of a pre-existing condition, increases with each additional year of schooling.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), nearsightedness is a refractive error in which the eye does not bend light correctly, causing objects far away to look hazy and distorted.

The researchers behind this latest study argue that environmental factors must harshly influence the chances of developing myopia - largely because rates of the condition have increased to nearly 80 percent in some portions of the world, especially among developing Asian countries.

During the study, researchers examined 4,658 Germans with myopia who were between the ages of 35 and 74, after excluding any subjects with cataracts or anyone who had previously undergone optical surgery.

Overall, they found that 53 percent of university graduates were nearsighted, while 35 percent of high school graduates sported the same condition. Among subjects without a high school education, but within the same age group, only 24 percent were nearsighted.

The intensity of nearsightedness also appeared to increase with educational years, with college graduates boasting much more severe versions of myopia compared to myopic high school graduates.

After analyzing previous data concerning genetic markers, the researchers concluded that risk of myopia is much more heavily influenced by environmental factors associated with education than it is by genetic factors.

"Since students appear to be at a higher risk of nearsightedness, it makes sense to encourage them to spend more time outdoors as a precaution," Alireza Mirshahi, M.D., lead author of the study, said in an AAO news release.

It is important to note that the researchers only established an association between education and nearsightedness and did not determine a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study was published in Ophthalmology on June 17.