Ernst Goldschmidt

Does the level of physical activity in university students influence development and progression of myopia?--a 2-year prospective cohort study.

PURPOSE To study whether physical activity has a protective effect on the development and progression of myopia in medical students. METHODS In a 2-year longitudinal cohort study, 156 Caucasian first-year medical students from the University of Copenhagen were enrolled. The baseline examination included visual acuity, subjective refraction, Maddox Wing test (Clement Clarke International Ltd., Harlow, UK), partial coherence interferometry, slit lamp examination, automated refraction in cycloplegia, an oral questionnaire, and a cycle ergometer test. Measurements were repeated at the follow-up. A total of 151 (97%) participants completed the study. RESULTS The prevalence of myopia (spherical equivalent [SE] <or= -0.5 D) increased from 37% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 29.1-44.9) to 43% (95% CI: 34.6-50.8, P < 0.001). The incidence rate of myopia was 6.1/100 person years of observation. The mean refractive error (SE) decreased from -0.50 (1.81) to -0.74 (1.95) D (P < 0.001), and the mean axial length increased from 23.81 (1.06) to 23.94 (1.09) mm (P < 0.001). In a multiple regression analysis, time spent reading scientific literature (P = 0.024) and younger age (P = 0.022) were associated with a refractive change toward myopia, whereas physical activity was inversely associated with a refractive change toward myopia (P = 0.015). Myopic eyes progressed significantly more than did emmetropic and hyperopic eyes (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS An association between physical activity and myopia was observed, suggesting a protective effect of physical activity on the development and progression of myopia in university students. The results confirm that intensive studying is a risk factor of myopia and that myopic progression or development is more likely in medical students in their early 20s than in their late 20s.

Visual acuity in Danish school children

Abstract The medical records of 8769 school children attending the 2nd‐5th grades in the Municipality of Odense have been scrutinized with regard to visual acuity. 1216 children were subject to examination, of these 1034 were found to have reduced vision due to anomalies of refraction other causes. Bilateral reduction in vision of ≤ 6/18 was observed in 8 children corresponding to 0.09%. Unilateral reduction in sight of ≤ 6/12 (employed here as the definition of amblyopia) was seen in 1.07% of the children. This applied to 1.39% of the boys and 0.73% of the girls; the difference is statistically significant. The lower frequency of amblyopia as compared to earlier investigations is probably a consequence of better vision screening during preschool age.

THE IMPORTANCE OF HEREDITY AND ENVIRONMENT IN THE ETIOLOGY OF LOW MYOPIA

The Third International Conference on Myopia took place in Copenhagen in August 1980, and with this background a review of current myopia research is given with special reference to the interaction between genetic and environmental factors.

REFRACTION IN THE NEWBORN

While the frequency of ametropia in adults has been comparatively well established by means of extensive population studies, the distribution of refractive errors in the newborn is not nearly so well known, and the findings of older and more recent investigators have been inconclusive, particularly as regards the incidence of myopia. This is of substantial importance for clarifying the etiology of myopia, and there is therefore still a vital need for comprehensive studies of the refractive errors both in the foetus and the infant. The present paper is concerned only with the refraction in the newborn.

Glaucoma blindness in Denmark

Abstract In order to evaluate the prevalence and the incidence of glaucoma blindness in Denmark, all registration forms of persons ≥ 50 years of age at admission, admitted to the Danish Association of the Blind (DAB) between 1955 and 1987 with glaucoma as main cause of blindness, were examined. In 1987 6.7% of DAB‐members ≥ 50 years of age suffered from blindness caused at least partially by glaucoma, equivalent to an estimated prevalence of 45 per 100 000 of the Danish population ≥ 50 years. The estimated annual incidence of blindness due to glaucoma was 7 per 100 000 ≥ 65 years, and in an equal number of patients glaucoma was a contributory cause of blindness. The incidence of blindness due to glaucoma was decreasing in the young age groups (< 65 years) throughout the study period. Glaucoma blindness seems to occur at a later age now than earlier, leaving the patients blind for a shorter time. This pattern may be explained by improved health services but could also be due to a change in the spontaneous course of glaucoma. The proportion of glaucoma blindness in the glaucoma population was estimated to be 4–5%.

Is poor glycaemic control in diabetic patients a risk factor of myopia

Purpose:  As a consequence of an increasing prevalence of short‐sightedness (myopia) in countries that have adopted western dietary patterns, it has been hypothesized that hyperglycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia induce myopia. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relation between glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), insulin dosage and myopia in diabetic patients.

Optic disc appearance and retinal temporal vessel arcade geometry in high myopia, as based on follow-up data over 38 years

Purpose:  To discuss (i) optic disc appearance and (ii) the retinal course of the temporal vessel arcade in a longitudinal series of high myopia patients followed between the ages of 16 and 54.

Oculometry findings in high myopia at adult age: considerations based on oculometric follow-up data over 28 years in a cohort-based Danish high-myopia series

Purpose:  To present and discuss oculometry data in a series of adults with high myopia followed between the ages of 26 and 54 years. Emphasis is on axial length (AL) findings and corneal curvature radius (Crad).

MYOPIA AND HEIGHT

Usually, myopia occurs and develops during puberty, when body growth is most pronounced. Consequently, it may well be assumed that the development of myopia is due to a growth factor that influences both the eye and the rest of the body. A number of investigations ‘thus imply that myopic persons on an average are taller than emmetropes and hypermetropes, and that they have a more asthenic constitution.

Capillary haemangiomas of the eyelids and orbit. A review of 5 children.

Five children, previously treated for capillary haemangiomas of the eyelid and orbit, have been examinated concerning the functional and cosmetic results of the treatment. Different principles of treatment have been applied (surgical, X‐irradiation and systemic corticosteroid). All the children developed amblyopia in varying degrees in the affected eye, dependent on the localization of the tumour and duration of eyelid occlusion. They also developed persisted corneal astigmatism. The results of refraction, oculometric measurement and CT‐scan are compared and discussed. From the results of the follow‐up examination and the literature on the subject, we have attempted to give guidelines for the treatment of children with eyelid and orbital capillary haemangiomas.