Mother's milk helps prevent myopia - study

"Mother's milk helps prevent myopia - study", Reuters UK, June 28,
2005,
Link:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/new...0664_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-SINGAPORE-MYOPIA-DC.XML

Children who are breastfed are about fifty percent less likely to be
short sighted, Singapore researchers said on Tuesday.

Docosahexaenoi acid or DHA, a substance found in breast milk, could be
the main element which improves early visual development in babies,
resulting in more ordered eyeball growth which then reduces the
development or severity of myopia.

"We can recommend infant breastfeeding as a protective behavior that
may be adopted by mothers to lower the probability of the development
of myopia," said Dr Saw Seang Mei of the National University of
Singapore, who headed the research.

Myopia is the most common eye problem. It affects as much as 40 percent
of the population in the United States and Europe but between 70 and 90
percent of some Asian populations such as Singapore, Japan and Hong
Kong, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Saw said the DHA is also important for the development of photoreceptor
cells in the retina, which play a major role in whether children become
short-sighted.

Researchers studied 797 children aged between 10 to 12 years in
Singapore as part of the survey. They were given medical tests and also
had to answer a series of questions including the number of books they
read per week.

The study, led by the Singapore Eye Research Institute, found that the
risk of myopia in a child that was breastfed is 0.6 times that of child
that was not, even after taking into account of other factors.

While genetic variation was seen to be the culprit of myopia among
children, soaring rates of the condition have led more researchers to
believe it is the rising watching of television, playing computers
games and reading that is to blame.

 

Dr. Christine Wildsoet, of Berkeley, would agree with you on the
nightlight issue. Interesting paper by her and her fellows, titled
"What do Animals tells us about Refractive Development in Humans?
OR What do we understand about human myopia?"

http://optometry.berkeley.edu/class/opt10/Opt10-04_Wildsoet.pdf

Neil
High hyperope. Sigh....

 

I haven't breast fed, but I doubt suckling infants look
at their nurses faces. Wrong angles.

I _have_ bottle fed my children, and can tell you there's
no labels on any bottles outside of hospitals. Hardly any
markings either from all the washing. I don't recall any
eyes crossing, either.

I don't rule out some environmental focussing difference.
ISTR bottle fed babies suckle eyes closed.

Quite possibly. What is infant night vision like? Many
bedrooms often have sufficient external light so see somewhat.
Car headlights playing on ceilings may also drive focus.

-- Robert

 

I believe that her opinion has since changed, due to further studies which
showed no difference between myopia in night light and no night light using
human children after parental myopia was controlled for. The speculation
was that myopic parents, getting up in the night without glasses, are more
likely to use night lights than non myopic parents. So the genetic risk
showed up as a correlation between night light use and myopia

Arch Ophthalmol. 2002 May;120(5):620-7.
Near-work activity, night-lights, and myopia in the Singapore-China study.

Saw SM, Zhang MZ, Hong RZ, Fu ZF, Pang MH, Tan DT.

Department of Community, Occupational, and Family Medicine, National
University of Singapore, 16 Medical Dr, Singapore 117597, Republic of
Singapore.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship among near-work activity,
night-lights, and myopia in schoolchildren in Singapore and Xiamen, China.
METHOD: The refractive error and ocular dimensions of 957 Chinese
schoolchildren aged 7 to 9 years in Singapore and Xiamen, China, were
determined using cycloplegic autorefraction and A-scan ultrasound biometry.
Information on near-work activity (number of books read per week, reading in
hours per day) and night-light use before age 2 years was obtained.

snip

CONCLUSIONS: Reading (number of books per week) may be associated with
higher myopia in Chinese schoolchildren. However, night-light use does not
seem to be related to higher myopia.


Br J Ophthalmol. 2001 May;85(5):527-8.
Myopia and night lighting in children in Singapore.

Saw SM, Wu HM, Hong CY, Chua WH, Chia KS, Tan D.

Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, National
University of Singapore, Republic of Singapore.

AIM: To examine the role of night time lighting and myopia in children in
Singapore METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted on 1001 children in
two Singapore schools. Cycloplegic refraction and A-scan biometry
measurements were made in both eyes. A detailed questionnaire was completed
by the parents to obtain information on night time lighting, near work
activity, educational and demographic factors. RESULTS: There was no
difference in myopia prevalence rates in children exposed to night time
light (33.1%) compared with children who slept in the dark (31.4%) before
age 2. In addition, vitreous chamber depth was not related to night light (p
= 0.58) before age 2. These results remained even after controlling for near
work. CONCLUSION: Myopia is not associated with night light in Asian
populations.

 

*Sigh*, 2 more near activity myopia causes, shot down mercilessly by
science... Why won't those scientists leave us alone???

w.stacy, o.d.

p.s. on the breast feeding, I had it backwards. The mom looks at the
child's face, not the other way 'round. The child is (quite naturally)
looking at the breast, which is *way* up close...

 

They look at a number of things. It depends some on age. I distinctly
remember sitting next to my wife on the couch while she was nursing one of
our kids. I must have been talking too much with my hands, because I
caught the kids attention. He let loose of the nipple and turned to look
at me. Once you start sucking, the milk comes out under pressure, and
keeps coming. I got sprayed but good.

ObGlasses: Yup, on the glasses and the beard. It doesn't just wipe off
the glasses, because you get a big smear. If you don't get it off the
beard, pretty soon all you can smell is sour milk.

It's been a long time, but I remember lines and numbers on both glass and
plastic bottles, to help in getting the right proportions for the formula.

I remember mostly open, but some closed also.

 

The brats I've seen doing either dont focus on the source of the milk at all.

Pity about when its asleep...

Thats pretty rare.

 

I just heard this on KGO

 

I just heard this on KGO 810 at about 1:30 PM in San Francisco on June
30, 2005.

 

Mangled it completely, actually.

Sometimes they do, much more often they dont.

Mostly they dont.

You did manage to get that bit right.