People with nearsightedness are often more intelligent.

People with nearsightedness have a higher rate of receiving a good education and are therefore more intelligent.

This link was discovered when scientists investigated the reasons behind the increasing rate of myopia among children across Europe.

Myopia (nearsightedness) has become a common disease worldwide in recent years. In the US, it affects over 40% of the population. In the UK, this figure ranges from 20-30%. Meanwhile, in developed Asian countries, the rate of myopia has reached 80% with a rapidly increasing rate.

Myopia is a refractive error that disrupts visual function. Due to the elongation of the eyeball, instead of light rays converging on the retina, they converge in front of the retina, causing children with myopia to only be able to see objects close to their eyes clearly and not see distant objects clearly.

In England, the prevalence of nearsightedness has increased from 18% among those born between 1910 and 1939 to over 50% among those born from the 1940s onwards.

This has led scientists to question whether environmental factors play a significant role in this issue, or whether educational attainment and intelligence are the main reasons for the high rate of nearsightedness.

The rate of myopia among children is currently increasing. (Image source: ibtimes)

Some researchers say that nearsightedness is primarily caused by genetics, but others blame modern lifestyles for the condition. In this new study, scientists had 3,452 volunteers undergo eye exams and intelligence tests, as well as assessments of other factors such as age and years of schooling.

"The results show that people with myopia have higher cognitive abilities and educational attainment compared to those without myopia. In addition, their intelligence quotient also increases proportionally with the degree of myopia," said Alireza Mirshahi, the lead scientist of the study.

As a result, 24% of myopic individuals were those who had not attended high school or received any formal education. Approximately 35% of myopic individuals were high school graduates and vocational school graduates. Of these, more than half (53%) were university graduates with myopia.

Researchers also examined the impact of 45 marker genes, but these did not significantly affect the degree of myopia as much as educational attainment. Alireza, a leading expert in ophthalmology at the University of Mainz in Germany, found that the most important factor, and one most closely linked to intelligence, was the number of years of schooling.

"Cognitive ability is partly inherited. The rest is reinforced and enhanced by education. Therefore, it is quite closely related to myopia," Alireza said.

Excessive screen time in today's world is a major cause of eye damage. Furthermore, younger generations tend to spend more time indoors than outdoors. As a result, their eyes don't have the opportunity to grow and adapt properly.

According to Infonet