ReviewOphthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)2022
Time spent outdoors as an intervention for myopia prevention and control in children: an overview of systematic reviews.
Review in Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 72 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exposure-response association between outdoor activity time and myopia risk in Chinese children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of global health · 2026Pooled it
- Exercise and visual training interventions for myopia in children and adolescents: a systematic review with a focus on near-far accommodation.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Influence of outdoor time on the spherical equivalent and axial length in childhood myopia: A meta-analysis.Acta ophthalmologica · 2025Pooled it
- Interventions for myopia control in children: a living systematic review and network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Light Therapy for Myopia Prevention and Control: A Systematic Review on Effectiveness, Safety, and Implementation.Translational vision science & technology · 2024Pooled it
- Interventions to increase time spent outdoors for preventing incidence and progression of myopia in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Associations between systemic melatonin and human myopia: A systematic review.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2023Pooled it
- Interventions for myopia control in children: a living systematic review and network meta-analysis.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Pattern of association between school grades and myopia: longitudinal findings from the SCORM cohort.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- High-Color-Temperature Lighting Is Associated With Activation of MAPK/ERK-nNOS Signaling and MMP-2-Related Pathways in Ocular Tissues.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Body Roundness Index and Reported Vision Difficulty in U.S. Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study of NHANES 2021-2023.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Myopia Management Consensus Statement in South Korean Children 2025 by the Korean Myopia Society for the Korean Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.Korean journal of ophthalmology : KJO · 2026Review
- Individual and School-Level Factors Associated with Pediatric Eye Disorders and Referral Adherence in an Enhanced School-Based Vision Screening Program in Ghana.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Interaction Between Near Work and Narrowband Light on Choroidal Thickness.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2026Article
- Identifying and Managing Pre-Myopia: A Narrative Review.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Effectiveness of orthokeratology plus vision therapy for controlling myopia progression in children.American journal of translational research · 2026Article
- Influence of light on myopia-a review.International journal of ophthalmology · 2026Review
- Functionalized chitosan-graphene magnetic nanocomposites enhance collagen synthesis in scleral fibroblasts.Open life sciences · 2026Article
- Influence of Astigmatism Type on Myopia Progression Among Children Wearing Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments (DIMS) Spectacle Lenses.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Individual and school-level factors associated with suspected pediatric eye disorders and referral adherence in an enhanced school-based vision screening program in Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeOutdoor light exposure is considered a safe and effective strategy to reduce myopia development and aligns with existing public health initiatives to promote healthier lifestyles in children. However, it is unclear whether this strategy reduces myopia progression in eyes that are already myopic. This study aims to conduct an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) reporting time spent outdoors as a strategy to prevent myopia or slow its progression in children.
methodsWe searched the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE and CINAHL from inception to 1 November 2020 to identify SRs that evaluated the association between outdoor light exposure and myopia development or progression in children. Outcomes included incident myopia, prevalent myopia and change in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) and axial length (AL) to evaluate annual rates of myopia progression. The methodological quality and risk of bias of included SRs were assessed using the AMSTAR-2 and ROBIS tools, respectively.
resultsSeven SRs were identified, which included data from 47 primary studies with 63,920 participants. Pooled estimates (risk or odds ratios) consistently demonstrated that time outdoors was associated with a reduction in prevalence and incidence of myopia. In terms of slowing progression in eyes that were already myopic, the reported annual reductions in SER and AL from baseline were small (0.13-0.17 D) and regarded as clinically insignificant. Methodological quality assessment using AMSTAR-2 found that all reviews had one or more critical flaws and the ROBIS tool identified a low risk of bias in only two of the included SRs.
conclusionThis overview found that increased exposure to outdoor light reduces myopia development. However, based on annual change in SER and AL, there is insufficient evidence for a clinically significant effect on myopia progression. The poor methodological quality and inconsistent reporting of the included systematic reviews reduce confidence in the estimates of effect.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.