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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2025 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Ophthalmol. 2023 Oct 27;259:35–44. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.10.019

Table 3.

Characteristics of Olmsted County, Minnesota, Residents’ Refractive Status, 1966–2019

1966–1969 (n=1038) 1970–1979 (n=1460) 1980–1989 (n=1209) 1990–1999 (n=1541) 2000–2009 (n=36095) 2010–2019 (n=40363) P Value
Age- and Sex Standardized Prevalence, % (95% CI)
Myopia 37.0 (37.0, 37.0) 42.9 (42.9, 42.9) 55.0 (55.0, 55.0) 60.5 (60.5, 60.5) 61.4 (61.4, 61.5) 63.0 (62.9, 63.1) <.0001
High Myopia AAO 3.21 (3.21, 3.21) 3.81 (3.80, 3.81) 7.35 (7.35, 7.36) 6.89 (6.88, 6.89) 8.51 (8.51, 8.52) 8.83 (8.83, 8.84) <.0001
High Myopia WHO 5.46 (5.46, 5.46) 6.67 (6.67, 6.67) 11.82 (11.81, 11.82) 11.98 (11.98, 11.99) 12.97 (12.96, 12.97) 13.32 (13.31, 13.32) <.0001

Estimated Myopia Prevalence, % (95% CI)
Overall 33.9 (31.1–36.8) 43.5 (41.0–46.0) 46.7 (43.9–49.6) 53.5 (51.0–56.0) 53.6 (53.1–54.1) 57.1 (56.6–57.6) <.0001
Men 32.0 (27.0–36.9) 44.0 (39.9–48.0) 53.0 (48.2–57.8) 56.4 (52.2–60.6) 51.3 (50.5–52.1) 55.1 (54.3–55.8) <.0001
Women 40.6 (36.6–46.6) 44.5 (41.2–47.9) 52.4 (48.2–56.6) 61.6 (58.2–64.9) 55.3 (54.6–56.0) 58.5 (57.9–59.2) <.0001

Estimated High Myopia Prevalence AAO Definition (SE ≤ (−)6.0 D), % (95% CI)
Overall 2.8 (2.0–4.0) 4.0 (3.1–5.2) 5.1 (3.9–6.4) 5.8 (4.7–7.1) 7.9 (7.7–8.2) 8.3 (8.1–8.6) <.0001
Men 2.6 (0.9–4.3) 3.3 (2.0–5.1) 8.3 (5.7–11.0) 6.8 (4.6–8.9) 6.9 (6.5–7.3) 7.4 (7.0–7.6) <.0001
Women 3.4 (2.0–4.9) 4.7 (3.3–6.4) 4.8 (3.0–6.6) 6.5 (4.9–8.5) 8.7 (8.3–9.1) 9.1 (8.7–9.4) <.0001

Estimated High Myopia Prevalence WHO Definition (SE ≤ (−)5.0 D), % (95% CI)
Overall 5.0 (3.8–6.5) 7.0 (5.8–8.4) 8.4 (7.0–10.1) 10.3 (8.8–11.9) 12.0 (11.7–12.3) 12.6 (12.2–12.9) <.0001
Men 4.7 (2.5–6.9) 5.3 (5.3–7.2) 12.9 (9.7–16.1) 10.9 (8.3–13.6) 10.6 (10.1–11.1) 11.0 (10.6–11.5) <.0001
Women 6.2 (4.2–8.2) 8.4 (6.5–10.2) 8.8 (6.4–11.2) 12.4 (10.1–14.6) 13.1 (12.6–13.5) 13.7 (13.2–14.1) <.0001

Estimated Myopia Prevalence Race, % (95% CI)
White 53.3 (52.7–53.8) 57.0 (56.4–57.5) <.0001
Black 41.0 (38.0–43.9) 47.0 (44.6–49.5) 0.001
Asian 65.4 (62.9–67.9) 67.8 (66.0–69.8) 0.7974
Other 53.2 (50.2–56.2) 55.3 (52.7–57.8) 0.299

Estimated High Myopia Prevalence Race AAO Definition (SE ≤ (−)6.0 D), % (95% CI)
White 7.6 (7.3–7.9) 8.0 (7.7–8.3) <.0001
Black 3.5 (2.4–4.6) 4.2 (3.2–5.2) 0.2739
Asian 15.8 (14.0–17.7) 16.4 (14.8–18.0) 0.3561
Other 8.6 (6.9–10.3) 8.5 (7.1–9.9) 0.9384

Age Group Myopia Prevalence, % (95% CI)
18–24 60.1 (52.7–67.5) 61.8 (56.4–67.1) 68.6 (55.9–81.4) 79.0 (71.8–86.3) 79.9 (78.6–81.2) 79.2 (77.8–80.5) <.0001
25–34 55.1 (47.8–62.5) 69.5 (64.5–74.5) 77.0 (71.8–82.2) 74.2 (68.6–79.7) 81.1 (80.1–82.2) 81.6 (80.6–82.7) <.0001
35–44 40.3 (31.9–48.8) 41.0 (34.2–47.8) 60.8 (53.7–67.9) 73.2 (68.1–78.3) 71.5 (70.3–72.7) 72.3 (71.1–73.5) <.0001
45–54 23.9 (16.7–31.1) 32.1 (25.9–38.3) 50.6 (42.9–58.4) 64.0 (57.8–70.1) 65.6 (64.6–66.7) 65.4 (64.3–66.4) <.0001
55–64 20.5 (16.0–25.1) 15.2 (11.5–19) 28.0 (23.0–33.0) 36.0 (31.5–40.6) 41.7 (40.6–42.9) 50.1 (49.3–51.0) <.0001
Age Group High Myopia Prevalence AAO Definition (SE ≤ (−)6.0 D), % (95% CI)
18–24 6.0 (2.4–9.5) 6.9 (4.1–9.7) 19.6 (8.7–30.5) 5.9 (1.7–10.1) 11.1 (10.1–12.2) 9.3 (8.4–10.2) 0.3547
25–34 4.6 (1.5–7.6) 7.6 (4.8–10.5) 10.7 (6.9–14.5) 13.6 (9.2–17.9) 15.5 (14.5–16.4) 14.3 (13.4–15.3) <.0001
35–44 3.9 (.6–7.2) 3.0 (.6–5.4) 6.6 (3.0–10.2) 8.9 (5.7–12.2) 12.2 (11.4–13.1) 12.9 (12.0–13.8) <.0001
45–54 2.2 (0–4.7) 1.4 (0–2.9) 5.0 (1.6–8.4) 4.3 (1.7–6.9) 9.2 (8.5–9.8) 9.9 (9.2–10.5) <.0001
55–64 1.0 (0–2.1) .9 (0–1.8) 1.3 (0–2.5) 3.0 (1.4–4.6) 3.4 (3.0–3.8) 5.7 (5.3–6.1) <.0001