Relationship between Myopia and Light Exposure

ZHU Qiu-rong, LIU Long-qian

Abstract

Epidemiological studies found that the incidence of myopia was increasing year by year and the age of onset of myopia was showing a trend of affecting increasingly younger children. Reducing the occurrence of myopia and controlling the increase of myopia diopter have always been the focus of research on the prevention and control of myopia. Large randomized controlled clinical trials have found that outdoor activities can effectively reduce the incidence of myopia and delay the progression of myopia. Basic experiments also revealed that there were certain connections between light exposure and myopia. We herein review the research progress, limitations and future directions of research on light exposure and myopia. From the perspective of light properties, increasing the intensity of light can slow the progression of myopia and reduce the occurrence of experimentally induced myopia. However, the actual mechanism of action is still unclear. The rhythmic changes of light exposure caused by the light/dark cycle may cause abnormalities in the secretion of melatonin and dopamine, and changes in the circadian rhythm of intraocular pressure and choroidal thickness, thus affecting myopia. The red light, with relatively longer wavelength and forming images behind the retina, tends to induce myopia more easily, while the blue light, with medium and short wavelength and forming images before the retina, tends to delay myopia progression. However, different species respond differently to lights of different wavelengths, and the relationship between light wavelength and myopia needs further investigation. Future research can be done to further explore the mechanism of action of how light exposure changes the progression of myopia, including the following aspects: how light changes dopamine levels, causing changes in downstream signal pathways, and thus controlling the growth of the axial length of the eye; how retinal photoreceptor cells receive light signals of different wavelengths in order to adjust the refractive power of the eyes; and how to design artificial lighting of reasonable intensity, composition and properties, and apply the design in myopia prevention and control.

 

Keywords: Myopia, Luminance, Monochromatic light, Light exposure rhythm, Flashing light, Dopamine

 

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