cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/44981911

See the study here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(25)00111-5/fulltext

May 22, 2025 | Open access

Prevalence of myopia in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 14 countries

Although myopia prevalence increased in East Asian countries, the burden of myopia in Europe is less known. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of myopia in Europe and at the country level.

We screened 2074 records and included 22 studies (from 14 European countries; n = 128,012) in the meta-analyses. The pooled prevalence of myopia was 23.5% (95% CI: 18.5–29.3; I2 = 99.7%), ranging from 11.9% in Finland to 49.7% in Sweden. In cycloplegic studies, myopia prevalence was 18.9% (95% CI: 13.2–26.5%; I2 = 99.7%) vs. 31.2% (95% CI: 24.9–38.3%; I2 = 99.3%) in non-cycloplegic studies. Subgroup and meta-regression analyses exploring sources of heterogeneity showed a lower prevalence in children (6–11 years; 5.5%) compared with adolescents (12–17 years; 25.2%) and adults (18–39 years; 24.3%) in cycloplegic studies. No significant differences in prevalence were observed between sexes. Myopia prevalence increased significantly between 2000–2010 and 2011–2022 (p = 0.040), although age-specific trends remained stable.