Genetic evidence for the onset and development of myopia

Myopia is a common refractive eye disease, which is an ametropia in which the spherical equivalent of the eye is less than or equal to -0.50 D, or the axial length of the eye is more than 24 mm.As myopia progresses, the likelihood of ocular complications gradually increases, including retinal detachment, retinal neovascularization, macular degeneration, and other pathological changes.In recent years, the annual incidence of myopia has increased significantly and has become the second leading cause of blindness worldwide.Epidemiologic studies have shown that the distribution of myopia presents obvious ethnic differences and familial clustering characteristics, indicating that genetic factors play an important role in the onset and development of myopia.In addition, researchers have identified many pathogenic variants and candidate genes for myopia in patient samples, revealing the genetic and molecular mechanisms of myopia development.The genetic factor not only can serve as the independent factor that affects myopia development but also can interact with the environmental factor and together control the progression of myopia.This article reviewed the epidemiological research evidence on the heritability of myopia, the genetic factors of myopia development, and the interaction between genetic and environmental factors to provide new ideas for the prevention, control and treatment of myopia.

Myopia; Genetic factors; Gene environment Interaction; Risk factors