Level of education is more decisive than intelligence for development of short-sightedness

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-11/jgum-loe111516.php

Public Release: 15-Nov-2016
Level of education is more decisive than intelligence for development of short-sightedness
Mainz University Medical Center examines the link between myopia and cognitive abilities
Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz

Environmental factors such as education and leisure activities have a greater influence on the development of short-sightedness or myopia than the ability to think logically and solve problems. Myopia and the so-called "fluid intelligence" of a person are certainly related, but only indirectly through the duration of education. This is the conclusion of researchers at the Mainz University Medical Center involved in the study "Myopia and Cognitive Performance: Results from the Gutenberg Health Study." The results of the study appeared in the October issue of the specialist journal Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science.

Myopia, also known as short-sightedness or near-sightedness, is the most common disorder affecting the eyesight and the condition is on the increase. Severe short-sightedness is one of the main causes of impaired vision. In addition, it is closely associated with an increased risk of secondary complications such as retinal detachment, macular degeneration, premature cataracts, and glaucoma. Because myopia can be easily treated in the early stages, although it cannot be fully cured, insight into the causes of the disease is of central importance.

"We know from earlier studies that a higher level of education frequently goes hand-in-hand with the development of short-sightedness," said Professor Norbert Pfeiffer, Director of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University Medical Center of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU).

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they discovered that the number of years over which an individual received education exhibited a more direct and closer relationship with short-sightedness than cognitive ability. This means that it is only through educational attainments that cognitive ability is linked to myopia. In other words, the level of education rather than intelligence is more decisive for development of short-sightedness. In the case of two equally intelligent people, it is thus most probably the one who attended school for longer and has the better educational qualifications who will become myopic and experience more defective vision.

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