Abstract
Longer durations for near-work activities, such as studying, worsen eyesight. In contrast, outdoor exercise is effective in reducing the risk of developing myopia. Despite these findings, however, the interaction between studying and exercise in eyesight has not been quantitatively evaluated. Moreover, since there is a culture of attending lessons in Japan, it is important to investigate the relationship between elementary school activities, such as cram schools or sports clubs, and vision. Therefore, in this study, we examined whether attending cram schools and/or sports clubs is associated with the use of glasses among elementary school students. We conducted a survey among 7419 elementary school students in Tokyo, Japan using a food education questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between wearing glasses, an objective variable, and attending sports clubs and cram schools. Sex and school year were considered confounding factors. The results of this study showed that students who attended only sports clubs were more likely to be categorized into the “not wearing glasses” group (p = 0.03, OR = 1.45), whereas those who attended only cram schools were more likely to be categorized into the “wearing glasses” group (p = 0.008, OR = 0.67). In addition, students who attended both cram schools and sports clubs were more likely to be categorized into the “not wearing glasses” group than those who only attended cram schools (p = 0.28, OR = 0.85). Our findings indicate that attending not only cram schools but also sports clubs may prevent deterioration of eyesight. Parents and health care providers need to take these findings into account in order to prevent visual impairment in children.
Highlights
Myopia, the leading cause of visual impairment, is estimated to affect half of the world’s population by 2050 [1,2]
We investigated whether attending cram schools and/or sports clubs is associated with the use of glasses among elementary school students
We focused on cram school and sports club activities to test the hypothesis that cram school and sports club attendance may be associated with the state of the use of glasses, given the high rate of cram school and sports club attendance among
Summary
The leading cause of visual impairment, is estimated to affect half of the world’s population by 2050 [1,2]. In parallel with the increase in overall myopia, there has been an increase in the prevalence of intense myopia, which is related to increased visual impairment and blindness, mainly due to retinal chorioretinal degeneration and retinal detachment [7,8]. The economic burden of uncorrected distance refractive errors, mainly caused by myopia, has been estimated to be approximately USD 202 billion per year, making it a significant economic burden [10]. The incidence of myopia increases during school-age years and decreases in later adulthood [11]; it is important to prevent myopia in school-age children
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