Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 29;13(2):310-317.
doi: 10.21037/tp-23-617. Epub 2024 Feb 20.

Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and myopia in children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Qing Tao  1 , Yujie Chang  1   2 , Andrew S Day  3 , Jinyi Wu  4 , Xiaohe Wang  1
Affiliations

Association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D level and myopia in children and adolescents: a cross-sectional study

Qing Tao et al. Transl Pediatr. .

Abstract

Background: Prior reports have indicated an inconsistent relationship between vitamin D levels and myopia in children and adolescents with limited sample size. This study was undertaken to further clarify this relationship with a repeated cross-section study.

Methods: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database with samples <19 years old was utilized. Data on rates of myopia (spherical equivalent less than or equal to -1.0 D), serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level (high performance liquid chromatography), and other key variables were extracted and analyzed. Three models were utilized to evaluate the dose response of vitamin D levels using stepwise logistic regression. Logistic regressions for sex subgroups and other covariates were also performed, and Forest plots were drawn.

Results: Data were available from 6,814 children (49.5% girls; mean age: 14.9±1.85 years). The myopia and non-myopia differed in serum 25(OH)D level, gender, race, poverty income ratio (PIR), and body mass index (BMI). Serum 25(OH)D levels were negatively correlated with myopia [odds ratio (OR) =0.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.77-0.99, P<0.05] regardless of sex. Although the relationship did not appear to be linear, there was a dose effect with higher serum 25(OH)D levels linked with lower rates of myopia. In addition, rates of myopia were increased in females compared with males (OR =1.12, 95% CI: 1.01-1.24, P=0.03), those with a high PIR (OR =1.08, 95% CI: 1.04-1.11, P<0.001), and those with high BMI (OR =1.19, 95% CI: 1.11-1.27, P<0.001). White ethnicity (OR =0.78, 95% CI: 0.68-0.90, P<0.001) and leisure-time exercise (OR =0.94, 95% CI: 0.92-0.97, P=0.02) were associated with lower rates of myopia.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that higher serum 25(OH)D levels and increased amounts of leisure-time exercise are associated with lower rates of myopia in this group of children and adolescents. Meanwhile, female gender, high PIR level, and high BMI were associated with greater rates of myopia. The findings indicated that children and adolescents needed leisure-time exercise to lower the risk of myopia.

Keywords: 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]; National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES); Vitamin D; myopia.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://tp.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/tp-23-617/coif). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Forest plot of the association between the covariates and myopia. PIR, poverty income ratio; BMI, body mass index; LTPA, leisure time physical activity.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Chan HN, Zhang XJ, Ling XT, et al. Vitamin D and Ocular Diseases: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci 2022;23:4226 .10.3390/ijms23084226 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chou HD, Yao TC, Huang YS, et al. Myopia in school-aged children with preterm birth: the roles of time spent outdoors and serum vitamin D. Br J Ophthalmol 2021;105:468-72. 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2019-315663 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Modjtahedi BS, Abbott RL, Fong DS, et al. Reducing the Global Burden of Myopia by Delaying the Onset of Myopia and Reducing Myopic Progression in Children: The Academy's Task Force on Myopia. Ophthalmology 2021;128:816-26. 10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.10.040 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Naidoo KS, Fricke TR, Frick KD, et al. Potential Lost Productivity Resulting from the Global Burden of Myopia: Systematic Review, Meta-analysis, and Modeling. Ophthalmology 2019;126:338-46. 10.1016/j.ophtha.2018.10.029 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Specht IO, Jacobsen N, Frederiksen P, et al. Neonatal vitamin D status and myopia in young adult men. Acta Ophthalmol 2020;98:500-5. 10.1111/aos.14349 - DOI - PubMed