The silent eye epidemic: why myopia surged and how to slow it down

A public health crisis that keeps growing

In 1970, roughly 25% of the world's population was myopic. Today that figure is above 30%. At this pace, the Brien Holden Vision Institute projects that by 2030 more than 3.3 billion people will be myopic, and by 2050 that number could reach 4.758 billion: half of humanity.

What makes these numbers especially alarming is not just their magnitude, but their speed. In East Asia — Singapore, China, South Korea — prevalence among 20-year-olds already exceeds 80–90%. Europe is not far behind: recent studies report increases of 10 percentage points among adolescents in barely a decade. In Ecuador, although national epidemiological data are limited, the trend is equally concerning in urban settings with high academic demands and intensive screen use, such as Cuenca.

"If the current trend is not reversed, 50% of the world's population will be myopic by 2050, with 1 billion people affected by high-risk myopia."

— Brien Holden Vision Institute / Holden et al., Ophthalmology, 2016

The World Health Organization classifies uncontrolled myopia as one of the leading causes of visual impairment worldwide. The distinction matters: this is not a cosmetic or comfort issue. It is a public health problem with serious — and preventable — medical consequences.

Why did cases surge?

Myopia has a clear genetic component: having one or both parents with myopia significantly increases the risk. But genes do not change in twenty years. What did change, drastically, is the environment in which children grow up and adults work.

The sunlight mechanism deserves special attention. When a child's eye is exposed to high-intensity ambient light (over 10,000 lux on sunny days), the photoreceptor cells in the retina release dopamine. This molecule acts as an inhibitory signal that slows the longitudinal growth of the eyeball. Without that signal — because the child spends the day indoors under barely 200–500 lux — the eye keeps elongating unchecked. In Cuenca, despite abundant sunshine, modern school routines cut the time children genuinely spend outdoors to less than an hour a day.

It's not just about wearing glasses: the risks of high myopia

Mild or moderate myopia (up to −3.00 diopters) rarely leads to serious complications if it is kept under control. The problem appears when it goes beyond −6.00 diopters, the threshold at which it is classified as high myopia. In this category the problem is not just blurred distance vision: the eye is anatomically longer than normal, and that elongation stretches and thins critical internal structures.

The conclusion is clear: slowing myopia progression in childhood is not just a matter of avoiding thicker glasses. It is an investment in long-term eye health that can make the difference between a life with functional vision and the risk of serious complications after age 40.

How to slow myopia: the current evidence

The good news is that science has advanced considerably over the past decade. We now have interventions with solid evidence for slowing progression — especially in children. The most effective approach combines lifestyle changes with validated clinical options.

Lifestyle measures

Clinical therapies with validated evidence

1. Low-dose atropine eye drops

   First line in pharmacological control

   Atropine drops at 0.01%–0.05% have been shown to reduce myopia progression by up to 60% in children aged 6 to 12 (ATOM2 study, Singapore). They are applied once a day, usually at night, with minimal side effects at these concentrations.

2. Orthokeratology (Ortho-K)

   Rigid lenses worn overnight

   The patient sleeps wearing special lenses that gently reshape the cornea. On waking, they see clearly without glasses or contacts during the day. Multiple meta-analyses from the International Myopia Institute (IMI) confirm that they slow axial elongation by 40–50%.

3. Soft peripheral defocus contact lenses

   MiSight and similar designs — FDA approved

   They create zones of peripheral defocus that send 'braking' signals to the retina. MiSight (CooperVision) was the first soft contact lens approved by the FDA specifically for myopia control in children (2019), with a 59% reduction in progression.

4. Novar Myofix lenses

   Full-field peripheral defocus — the solution we fit at SOI Ópticas

   Spectacle lenses with a Fresnel full-field peripheral defocus design: a central zone that corrects distance vision sharply and a periphery with +3.50 D of defocus, intended to generate the signal that — according to the accepted model — slows axial elongation. In the one-year Myofix study (47 children aged 7 to 15, published in Ophthalmology and Therapy), the subgroup with good wearing compliance recorded a mean progression of −0.12 D versus −0.47 D in virtual controls: a 75% reduction in refractive progression and 37% in axial elongation. That figure should be read with its context — a one-year study, 47 participants and a result measured in the subgroup that met the recommended wearing hours — not as a guarantee of individual results. Because they look like conventional glasses, they are a particularly suitable option for children who cannot tolerate contact lenses or are not candidates for them.

At SOI Ópticas Cuenca our go-to solution for myopia control is the Novar Myofix lens, which we fit at both branches with the support of the OptiStudio lab. If you have children with progressing myopia — or you notice your own prescription rising year after year — the first step is a complete optometric evaluation to define the most appropriate plan for each case.

Where to treat myopia in Cuenca?

In Cuenca, myopia can be evaluated and treated at SOI Ópticas, at either of our two branches: Local Centro (Benigno Malo 7-19 and Presidente Córdova, in the historic center) and Local Estadio (Florencia Astudillo 3-45 and Av. Solano, home of the OptiStudio lab). At both branches we carry out the complete optometric evaluation and fit myopia control lenses, backed by our own lab.

If you are looking for where to treat myopia in Cuenca — for yourself or for a child whose prescription keeps rising — the starting point is always the same: measure how much the myopia has progressed and decide, with evidence, which control treatment applies. Not every case needs the same thing, and that decision is not made from a catalogue.

You can also write to us from the contact page or browse all our eye care services in Cuenca.

Frequently asked questions about myopia

This article is for informational purposes and does not replace a consultation with an eye care professional. If you notice changes in your vision or your child's, book an evaluation with an optometrist or ophthalmologist.