Relation between refraction, education, occupation, and age among 26- and 46-year-old Finns.

Refraction of four hundred sixty-six 26- and 46-year-old Finns revealed that the mean refraction of 26-year-olds was about 1 D more myopic than that of 46-year-olds. Myopic refraction was related to education and occupation. The means of refraction were +0.54 D for those whose education was elementary only and -0.70 D for those with secondary and higher education. Those in managerial positions had a mean refraction of -0.49 D, whereas the unskilled or semiskilled in manufacturing or the service trades had a mean refraction of +0.49 D, and farmers and agricultural workers had +0.33 D. The mean astigmatism of the myopes was +0.74 D and that of the nonmyopes +0.51 D. Both the myopic and hyperopic showed more astigmatism than the emmetropic. The estimated proportion of "late myopia" was 25 to 34% of the myopes at the age of 26 years. Present myopia was higher the earlier the first spectacles were received.