ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Europe2025
Prevalence of myopia in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis of data from 14 countries.
Article in The Lancet regional health. Europe, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Low concentration atropine eye drops and progression of myopia in children: multicentre placebo controlled, double masked, randomised trial in the UK (CHAMP-UK).BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2026Trial
- Hyperopic reserve, early myopia risk and screening strategies in children: A multi-regional analysis from the CREAM-KIDS consortium.iScience · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of 0.02% and 0.04% Atropine Therapy for Myopia Control in Czech Children: The MARS Trial.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Article
- Prevalence of Myopia in Europe: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) · 2026Review
- Progression of myopia among undergraduate students of Fatima Jinnah Medical University, Lahore.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2026Article
- Parental knowledge-attitude-practice profiles in childhood myopia: a comprehensive evaluation integrated with clinical findings.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Reduced myopia progression with low-dose atropine in DIMS non-responders and evidence of altered pupillary light reflex kinetics.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Myopia Trends in Europe: A Reappraisal of Current Evidence.Ophthalmology and therapy · 2026Review
- Real-Life Orthokeratology for Myopia Control in Hungarian Children: A Five-Year Study of Axial Length Changes.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Macular Buckling - A comprehensive review of Indications, Devices, and outcomes.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Review
- Real-World Comparison of the Effectiveness of Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segments and Myopi-X Spectacle Lenses for Myopia Control in Turkish Children: A Retrospective Study.Turkish journal of ophthalmology · 2026Observational
- Prevalence of Myopia in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Malaysian Prevalence Studies.The Malaysian journal of medical sciences : MJMS · 2026Review
- Temporal trends in refractive error among children and adolescents in Germany - a large-scale analysis of spectacle sales data from dispensing opticians from 2001 to 2025.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Workforce challenges to implementation of myopia management in Europe: an electronic/telephone expert survey.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2026Article
- Management of myopia: a mini-review.Medical hypothesis, discovery & innovation ophthalmology journal · 2026Review
- Childhood myopia in the modern environment: modifiable risk factors and evidence-based prevention.International journal of ophthalmology · 2026Review
- A Predictive Model for Personalized Fitting of Peripheral Defocus Spectacles Based on Ocular Biometric Parameters.Clinical optometry · 2026Article
- Prevalence and distribution of low and high myopia in Mexican outpatients: a nationwide cross-sectional clinic-based study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Risk Factors for Myopia in Primary School Children in Madrid: A School-Based Cycloplegic Refraction Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Axial Length to Corneal Radius of Curvature Ratio (AL/CR) and Refractive Errors in a Single Center Romanian Population.Biomedicines · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: 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. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science to identify studies on myopia prevalence published until January 2024, regardless of language. We included European cross-sectional and cohort studies with defined sampling strategies and excluded clinical surveys, myopia registries, self-reported near-sightedness, and non-representative populations. Pooled prevalence was estimated using random-effects models. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Cochran's Q (χ Findings: 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; I Interpretation: Myopia prevalence in Europe is lower than in Asia, with a less pronounced increase that disappears after stratifying by cycloplegic refraction and age. These findings highlight the need for age-specific data and cycloplegic refraction in future studies to reduce heterogeneity. Uneven country representation may limit the generalisability of these results. Funding: The present publication was funded by Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support through UID/04923-Comprehensive Health Research Centre.
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