Where your DNA places you among other people, and the studies behind it.
Not tailored to your result, and not medical advice
Prioritize Outdoor Time for Children: Regular time outdoors during childhood is the best-supported way to lower the chance a child becomes myopic; a randomized trial found extra daily outdoor activity reduced new myopia. Bright natural light is thought to be the key protective factor. American Academy of Ophthalmology
Get Regular Eye Exams and Manage Near Work: Comprehensive eye exams catch refractive change early, and discussing options with an eye-care professional matters if myopia is progressing or high. For screen comfort, the 20-20-20 rule (every 20 minutes, look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds) eases digital eye strain. American Optometric Association
How much of this is genetic?
Genetics explains 70% of why people differ in this trait. The rest is environment, daily habits and chance.
Heritability estimate: Hammond et al. 2001, IOVS (Twin Eye Study)
Background and further reading
Myopia (nearsightedness) happens when the eyeball grows too long or the cornea is too curved, so light focuses in front of the retina and distant objects look blurry. It is the most common refractive error worldwide, affecting roughly a third of people today. Prevalence has risen sharply - in parts of East and Southeast Asia, 80-90% of young adults are now myopic - and modelling projects that about half the world (and 10% with high myopia) will be nearsighted by 2050.[1][2]
Genetic Basis: Twin and family studies put the heritability of refractive error high, though estimates vary and gene-environment interplay is strong. Large genome-wide studies have steadily expanded the map: a 2018 meta-analysis of CREAM and 23andMe data identified 161 loci, and a 2020 study of more than 540,000 people raised the count to 449, implicating genes active in light signalling and eye growth.[3][4] Having myopic parents is also one of the strongest individual predictors - children with two myopic parents have on the order of three times the odds of those with none, an effect that reflects both shared genes and shared environment.[5]
Environmental Factors: Intensive education and near work associate with myopia, but the most robust modifiable factor is time spent outdoors in childhood. In a randomized trial in Guangzhou, adding 40 minutes of outdoor activity to the school day cut the 3-year incidence of myopia from 39.5% to 30.4%.[6] The protective effect is thought to involve bright outdoor light and retinal dopamine, though once myopia has started, outdoor time does less to slow its progression - which is where options such as low-dose atropine and specialised lenses come in.[7]
The published research behind your score, and the variants it draws on.
5 published scores from 3 studies
The myopia score combines 5 polygenic scores drawn from 3 published studies.
Tedja MS, et al. IMI – Myopia Genetics Report. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (2019)
Yam JC, et al. Low-Concentration Atropine for Myopia Progression (LAMP) Study. Ophthalmology (2019)
These traits are influenced by some of the same genes and variants as this one
Glaucoma: Progressive optic nerve damage, often driven by elevated pressure inside the eye.
Cataract: Clouding of the eye's lens, the most common cause of reversible vision loss.
Content updated August 2026.
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