the Nearsightedness It is among the major deficiencies of vision, and it is already known that the disease has a significant genetic factor. However, researchers recently noted five other variables that, when it comes to higher education levels, which require more time devoted to studies and less time outdoors, increase the risk of myopia in adults. know more.
Discover research that has mapped some of the variables that cause myopia
A paper by Cardiff University has been published in the journal Plos Genetics, using information from more than 340,000 people living in the UK. The results of the study showed that these genetic variants gradually increase the risk of myopia according to the person’s education level, especially those with higher education.
Of the five genes investigated, three were not identified, while the other two genes were already found in epidemiological surveys in East Asia, where about 80% of children are nearsighted, versus 30% of Westerners, according to the authors.
Other studies have already shown similar results.
According to the study’s lead author, some previous research has found 450 genes that may be associated with myopia. At the same time, in the study in question, a huge genetic and health database from the UK was used, containing information beyond medical conditions, including also the education of the participants, for example.
In this way, the researchers were able to look for variants that, when associated with higher levels of education, would have a chance of increasing people’s susceptibility to ocular disease.
Despite this, the lead author believes that the research has been inconclusive, and warrants further studies, seeking to understand more deeply the interaction between these genetic characteristics and lifestyle habits, because a cause-and-effect association is never simple.
However, this in no way diminishes the interest and importance generated by the discoveries, which are unprecedented at least for the medical community and scientific which seeks to better understand the causes of myopia.
