Ophthalmology| August 01 1999 Myopia and Ambient Lighting at Night AAP Grand Rounds (1999) 2 (2): 16–17. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.2-2-16 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Myopia and Ambient Lighting at Night. AAP Grand Rounds August 1999; 2 (2): 16–17. https://doi.org/10.1542/gr.2-2-16 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All PublicationsAll JournalsAAP Grand RoundsPediatricsHospital PediatricsPediatrics In ReviewNeoReviewsAAP NewsAll AAP Sites Search Advanced Search Topics: lighting, myopia, night time Source: Quinn GE, Shin CH, Maguire MG, Stone RA. Myopia and ambient lighting at night. Nature. 1999;399:113–114. This report explores a relationship between nocturnal light exposure at ages 0 to 2 years and the later development of myopia. In a retrospective study at a University of Pennsylvania pediatric ophthalmology clinic, the authors reviewed the records of 479 children, ages 2–16 years, seen as outpatients whose parents completed a study questionnaire in 1998 (selection criteria not specified). The study group consisted of 55% males, of whom 70% were Caucasian, and 30% African-American. Children with significant ophthalmologic disorders or a history of prematurity were excluded. The main focus of the questionnaire was the report by parents that a night light or regular room illumination was used or not used regularly at night while the child was sleeping during the first 2 years of life. The refraction of these children was measured during a clinic visit. The prevalence of myopia was strongly associated with ambient light exposure during sleep at night in the first 2 years after birth. The relation between light exposure and myopia development was deemed dose-dependent, since “a greater proportion of children” who slept with regular room lighting became myopic when compared to children who slept with only a night light or in darkness (no additional statistics presented). There was no relationship between nighttime lighting and myopia after age 2, suggesting a possible critical period for refractive development. On the basis of these findings, the authors recommend that children below the age of 2 sleep without artificial lighting at night. A great deal of radio, newspaper and magazine attention has been paid to this study, which was published in Nature’s “Scientific correspondence” section. Unfortunately, this report reveals that it is possibly fatally flawed. While any recommendation must await the performance of controlled, more detailed prospective studies, concerned parents might consider substituting subdued night lights for full room illumination. You do not currently have access to this content.