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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Myopia and Level of Education

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description

Purpose To analyze the association between myopia and educational level in an adult European cohort. Design Population-based cross-sectional study. Participants A cohort of the Gutenberg Health Study, including 4658 eligible enrollees between 35 and 74 years of age. Methods We applied a standardized protocol entailing a comprehensive questionnaire; thorough ophthalmic, general, cardiovascular, and psychological examinations; and laboratory tests, including genetic analyses. We documented achievement levels in school education and post-school professional education. The spherical equivalent (SE) was determined by noncycloplegic autorefractometry. We fitted mixed linear models including age, gender, and 45 myopia-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) as covariates. Main Outcome Measures Prevalence and magnitude of myopia in association with years spent in school and level of post-school professional education. Results Individuals who graduated from school after 13 years were more myopic (median, −0.5 diopters [D]; first quartile [Q1]/third quartile [Q3], −2.1/0.3 D) than those who graduated after 10 years (median, −0.2 D; Q1/Q3, −1.3/0.8 D), than those who graduated after 9 years (median, 0.3 D; Q1/Q3, −0.6/1.4 D), and than those who never finished secondary school (median, 0.2 D; Q1/Q3, −0.5/1.8 D; P P P P Conclusions Higher levels of school and post-school professional education are associated with a more myopic refraction. Participants with higher educational achievements more often were myopic than individuals with less education.