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Myopia Prevalence and Progression (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix D: The Etiology of Myopia
Pages 89-92

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From page 89...
... This distinction may be made in terms of refractive error (severe versus mild myopia) or the presence of axial elongation outside the range found in emmetropes ("axial" versus "correlational myopias)
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From page 90...
... They further porposed that, although the view that myopia is due to an abnormally long eyeball is valid, this validity is limited to refractive errors outside the range of those caused by faulty correlation of normal optical components. More modern statistical analyses suggest axial length is equally well correlated at all refractive errors (Gernet, 1964~.
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From page 91...
... Evidence consistent with this hypothesis includes high rates in cultural groups with high literacy; an association of myopia with educational level, amount of time spent reading, and near work; and reports linking increased myopia with the introduction of schools into a population. Those disagreeing with the near-work hypothesis suggest that myopes tend to read more than nonmyopes because of their myopia, giving rise to the observed association (see, for example, Ashton, 1985~.
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From page 92...
... Myopia associated with malnutrition in the sense of deficiency should probably be considered in this category, an well as the myopias associated with specific genetic diseases and with other eye problems leading to a reduction in visual acuity. In populations with a high prevalence of myopia, these special etiologies probably account for a small proportion of myopes, for example, among diabetics and among premature infants, less than one-third of the observer!
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Key Terms

  • severe myopia
  • severe myopias
  • near work
  • etiological theories
  • moderate myopia

  • myopia etiology
  • normal emmetropization
  • mild myopia
  • genetic role
  • refractive errors

  • myopias represent
  • cultural differences
  • ciliary muscle
  • ciliary muscles
  • separate entity

  • hyperopic eye
  • ocular components
  • work causes
  • initially hyperopic
  • ethnically defined

  • spent reading
  • various populations
  • refraction curve
  • intraocular pressure
  • equally prevalent

  • severe versus
  • milder myopias
  • parasympathetic tone
  • american indians
  • related theory


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