Myopia in Indian school going children increased in last decade, says study
Posted on: 14/Mar/2016 10:07:37 AM
A study conducted by AIIMS has said that over 13 per cent of school going children in India are myopic. It says that the number has doubled over the last decade, blaming it on the excess usage of electronic gadgets.
The study was conducted by researchers at the Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences at AIIMS. The report says that ten years ago, the number was at 7 per cent. Other nations that have also seen an increase in myopia in children are China, Singapore and Thailand.
Myopia is also known as short sightedness or near sightedness. It is a condition of the eye where the light that comes into the eye does not focus directly on the retina but just in front of it. This causes a distant object to be out of focus. However, nearby objects are in focus.
An official of the Rajendra Prasad Centre says, Very less studies have been done in India on the eye related problems and the myopia one is one of them. We are also conducting a national survey to find out the other eye related problems among the children. Several other new studies (are) being carried out to figure out the existing eye related problems in the country.
