Li Ju-Hsien, Chen Ho-Min, Su Kuan-Wen, Kuo Yu-Kai, Wu Cheng-Hsiu, Chen Nan-Ni, Huang Pei-Wei, Sun Chi-Chin
Department of Ophthalmology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, 222 Mai Chin Road, An Leh District, Keelung, Taiwan.
Division of Allergy, Asthma and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
BMC Ophthalmol. 2025 Mar 18;25(1):143. doi: 10.1186/s12886-025-03960-w.
Myopia is an increasingly prevalent visual impairment associated with severe ocular complications. Risk factors for childhood myopia include genetics, East Asian ethnicity, age, parental myopia, and various environmental factors. The relationship between vitamin D levels, outdoor activity, and myopia remains inconclusive. This study aims to investigate the correlation between longitudinal serum vitamin D levels and myopia in Taiwanese children.
The study measured serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations in children from the Prediction of Allergies in Taiwanese Children (PATCH) study at multiple time points, including umbilical cord blood and ages 1, 3, and 5 years. Refractive error under cycloplegic conditions and axial length were assessed from January 2021 to April 2022. Myopia was defined as a mean spherical equivalent in both eyes ≤ -0.5 diopter. Independent sample t-tests, partial correlation analyses, and generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between serum vitamin D concentrations and myopia.
A total of 126 eyes from 63 children (mean age: 8.90 ± 2.24 years) were analyzed. The lowest serum vitamin D level (19.11 ± 9.10 ng/mL) was observed in umbilical cord blood, while the highest level (37.01 ± 12.61 ng/mL) occurred at 1 year of age. No significant differences in serum vitamin D concentrations were found between children with and without myopia during gestation, at birth, or at ages 1, 3, and 5 years (all P > 0.05). Additionally, GEE analysis revealed that serum vitamin D levels were not significantly associated with cycloplegic spherical equivalent or axial length after adjusting for age and sex.
This prospective birth cohort study found no association between serum vitamin D concentrations at birth, 1, 3, or 5 years of age and the development of myopia in Taiwanese children. These findings suggest that other factors, such as ethnicity, near work activities, or lighting conditions, may play more significant roles in myopia development, particularly among East Asian populations.
近视是一种日益普遍的视力障碍，与严重的眼部并发症相关。儿童近视的风险因素包括遗传、东亚种族、年龄、父母近视以及各种环境因素。维生素D水平、户外活动与近视之间的关系尚无定论。本研究旨在调查台湾儿童血清维生素D水平纵向变化与近视之间的相关性。
该研究在多个时间点测量了台湾儿童过敏预测（PATCH）研究中儿童的血清25-羟基维生素D（25(OH)D）浓度，包括脐带血以及1岁、3岁和5岁时的浓度。在2021年1月至2022年4月期间评估了睫状肌麻痹状态下的屈光不正和眼轴长度。近视定义为双眼平均球镜当量≤-0.5屈光度。进行独立样本t检验、偏相关分析和广义估计方程（GEE）分析，以检验血清维生素D浓度与近视之间的关系。
共分析了63名儿童（平均年龄：8.90±2.24岁）的126只眼睛。脐带血中观察到最低的血清维生素D水平（19.11±9.10 ng/mL），而最高水平（37.01±12.61 ng/mL）出现在1岁时。在妊娠期间、出生时、1岁、3岁和5岁时，近视儿童与非近视儿童的血清维生素D浓度均无显著差异（所有P>0.05）。此外，GEE分析显示，在调整年龄和性别后，血清维生素D水平与睫状肌麻痹下的球镜当量或眼轴长度无显著相关性。
这项前瞻性出生队列研究发现，台湾儿童出生时、1岁、3岁或5岁时的血清维生素D浓度与近视的发生之间没有关联。这些发现表明，其他因素，如种族、近距离工作活动或光照条件，可能在近视发展中起更重要的作用，尤其是在东亚人群中。
