By Dr. Jessica Xu

Myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, has become a global epidemic, especially among children and teens. In the United States and Europe, incidents of myopia among young adults have reached 50% in 2015, doubled the rate sixty years ago.  In some Asia countries, the situation is much worse.  In China, prevalence of myopia among young adults in cities is 90%, surging from 10-20% sixty years ago.

Myopia is caused by different factors.  About 3% or less of the population are born with pathological myopia. A small percentage of the population suffer from diabetic related myopia. The vast majority cases of myopia nowadays are visual stress-induced myopia, also known as simple myopia or school myopia.