Inuit myopia: an environmentally induced "epidemic"?

Among Inuit less than 30 years old the prevalence of myopia is far in excess of that of their elders. This is especially true for females. There seems to be little, if any, genetic contribution to this "epidemic" of myopia in the young. The age and sex distribution indicates the likelihood...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Morgan, R. W., Speakman, J. S., Grimshaw, S. E.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1975
Subjects:
Research Article
inuit
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1956268
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1116086
Description
Summary:Among Inuit less than 30 years old the prevalence of myopia is far in excess of that of their elders. This is especially true for females. There seems to be little, if any, genetic contribution to this "epidemic" of myopia in the young. The age and sex distribution indicates the likelihood of an environmental factor, probably cultural, being responsible for the current pattern. Other data implicate school attendance as a possible etiologic factor.

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