Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: We assessed relationships between educational level and the prevalence of major ocular disorders in 24,915 eyes of 13,094 individuals from four population-based studies (Beijing Eye Study, Ural Eye and Medical Study, Ural Very Old Study, Central India Eye and Medical Study; age range 30–100 years). In multivariable analyses, educational level was not significantly associated with myopic macular degeneration (MMD; P = 0.72), age-related macular degeneration (AMD; P = 0.21), diabetic retinopathy ( P = 0.42), open-angle glaucoma ( P = 0.99) or angle-closure glaucoma ( P = 0.07). Instead, MMD correlated with longer axial length and older age; AMD with older age, shorter axial length and rural habitation; diabetic retinopathy with older age, shorter axial length, higher body mass index (BMI) and blood glucose; open-angle glaucoma with older age, longer axial length, lower BMI and higher intraocular pressure; and angle-closure glaucoma with older age, shallower anterior chamber depth and higher intraocular pressure. MMD prevalence did not show a large and consistent association with educational level in these adult cohorts, contrasting with the reported association between higher educational level and myopia in adolescents, suggesting a difference between adult MMD and school-age myopia. Axial myopia may be protective against AMD and diabetic retinopathy; longer axial length and lower BMI may be pathogenetically related to open-angle glaucoma.
Source: Scientific Reports
Institutions: University of Cologne, L V Prasad Eye Institute, University Hospital Cologne, University College London, Ufa Eye Research Institute, Suraj Eye Institute, Beijing Tsinghua Chang Gung Hospital, Tsinghua University, University Hospital Heidelberg, Hôpital Rothschild, Fondation de Rothschild
Language: English
Subfield: Ophthalmology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,690
Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
Award: G6096485623
OpenAlex ID: W7223255287