The Association between Near Work Activities and Myopia in Children—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Myopia has a multifactorial etiology, although environmental factors are predominant in determining its current patterns. Currently, associations between near work activities and myopia have not been consistently observed. Therefore, we performed a systematic review to quantify the effect of near work activities on myopia in children. Relevant articles published between 1989 and 2014 were identified in MEDLINE, Embase, and the Cochrane Library, and the citation lists were reviewed. Twelve cohort studies and 15 cross-sectional studies were included (25,025 children aged between 6 and 18 years). The I2 statistic was used to assess heterogeneity. Study-level data were pooled using a random-effects model or a fixed-effects model (when less than 5 studies were included). We found that more time spent on near work activities was associated with higher odds of myopia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.14; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-1.20) and that the odds of myopia increased by 2% (OR:1.02; 95% CI = 1.01-1.03) for every one diopter-hour (hr) more of near work per week. Therefore, the development of a strategy to reduce the impact of near work on myopia would be important for preventing myopia in children.