Health encyclopaedia

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Causes of Short-sightedness

There is tendency for myopia to run in families, children have approximately a 30% chance of developing myopia with one myopic parent and a 55% chance with two. High degree or chronic degenerative myopia also runs in families.  Myopia is more common in the developed world and its frequency is increasing.

Multiple factors probably combine to cause myopia. An individuals’ genetics, together with their exposure and susceptibility to environmental factors or development events, probably all have an effect on the structure of the eye.

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