New Delhi: Half of all children will be afflicted with myopia or nearsightedness by 2050. This means they can see nearby objects clearly but struggle with those farther away. According to the data-based predictions undertaken by experts at Dr Agarwals Eye Hospital, an eyecare chain, “as many as one-third of all urban children in India aged 5-15 years are expected to suffer from myopia by 2030,” News 18 reported.
The predictions, based on the slope of 0.8 per cent every year indicate that the prevalence of myopia among urban children will increase to “31.89 per cent in 2030, 40 per cent in 2040 and 48.1 per cent in 2050”. This means “one out of every two children in India will be suffering from myopia in the next 25 years, up from one in four currently.” The data is in sync with findings at eye clinics where ophthalmologists are diagnosing more and more children with weaker vision.
Terming the surge as “an epidemic,” Dr Vijay Parbatani, consultant, of ophthalmology at Manipal Hospital in Kharadi, told News 18, “Now, myopia has become an epidemic among children in India. Just a decade ago, the percentage of myopia amongst children was 5 to 7 percent and today it has jumped to 20 to 25 percent. And now, it is expected that by 2050, every third child might be suffering from myopia in India.”
Similarly, Dr Himika Gupta, a consultant ophthalmologist at Mumbai-based SRCC Children’s Hospital told News18, that the myopia prevalence among urban children has “tripled”, blaming “increased screen time” as the prime reason.
“The trend marks a drastic increase from 1999 to 2019 where myopia prevalence among urban children tripled from 4.44 per cent to 21.15 per cent,” she said.
