Sunshine Helps Cut Short Sightedness

Exposure to UVB light 'reduces one’s risk of developing myopia', scientists in London have claimed.

15:55 13 December 2016

A new research has claimed that today’s children suffer from eye problems not because of playing with gadgets but because they lack exposure to sunlight. 

 

Scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that more exposure to ultraviolet B drastically reduces the risk of developing short-sightedness (myopia). 

 

Their study was participated by 4,187 volunteers with 4,166 of them made to undergo an eye examination including refraction and were interviewed by trained fieldworkers using a structured questionnaires. Following exclusion for various factors, the final group included 2,797 participants without myopia and 371 without. 

 

'The association between UVB, education, and myopia remained even after respective adjustment. This suggests that the high rate of myopia associated with educational attainment is not solely mediated by lack of time outdoors,' the authors write.

 

'As the protective effect of time spent outdoors is increasingly used in clinical interventions, a greater understanding of the mechanisms and life stages at which benefit is conferred is warranted.'