Attending a Sports Club Can Help Prevent Visual Impairment Caused by Cram School in Elementary School Children in Japan

Abstract

Longer durations for near-work activities, such as studying, worsen eyesight. In contrast, outdoor exercise is effective in reducing the risk of developing myopia. Despite these findings, however, the interaction between studying and exercise in eyesight has not been quantitatively evaluated. Moreover, since there is a culture of attending lessons in Japan, it is important to investigate the relationship between elementary school activities, such as cram schools or sports clubs, and vision. Therefore, in this study, we examined whether attending cram schools and/or sports clubs is associated with the use of glasses among elementary school students. We conducted a survey among 7419 elementary school students in Tokyo, Japan using a food education questionnaire. A logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between wearing glasses, an objective variable, and attending sports clubs and cram schools. Sex and school year were considered confounding factors. The results of this study showed that students who attended only sports clubs were more likely to be categorized into the “not wearing glasses” group (p = 0.03, OR = 1.45), whereas those who attended only cram schools were more likely to be categorized into the “wearing glasses” group (p = 0.008, OR = 0.67). In addition, students who attended both cram schools and sports clubs were more likely to be categorized into the “not wearing glasses” group than those who only attended cram schools (p = 0.28, OR = 0.85). Our findings indicate that attending not only cram schools but also sports clubs may prevent deterioration of eyesight. Parents and health care providers need to take these findings into account in order to prevent visual impairment in children.

Short-Term Exposure to Violet Light Emitted from Eyeglass Frames in Myopic Children: A Randomized Pilot Clinical Trial

“…Many confounding environmental factors are associated with myopia including outdoor VL exposure [ 21 , 22 , 24 ], time of outdoor activity before entering elementary school [ 25 ], time spent performing near work [ 32 ], reading distance [ 4 ], time spent sleeping [ 33 , 34 ], club activity [ 35 ], average time of sunlight exposure [ 14 , 15 ], intraocular pressure [ 40 , 41 ], and dry eye [ 3 , 42 ]. We used these factors as fixed effects for the subgroup analysis of the MMRM in the subsequent subjects aged 8 to 10 years, which was the largest subgroup in the current study; the axial elongation and myopia progression were suppressed significantly in the VLf group compared with the control group.…”

“…After the examinations, the patients and guardians completed a questionnaire that included the recording of age [ 29 , 30 ], sex [ 31 ], parental myopia [ 9 ], time spent in outdoor activity before entering elementary school [ 25 ], time spent performing near work [ 32 ], reading distance [ 4 ], time spent sleeping [ 33 , 34 ], club activity (outdoors/indoors) [ 35 ], and time exposed to sunlight [ 14 , 15 ], all of which are known to be confounding environmental factors regarding myopia progression.…”

Effects of physical activity on the development and progression of myopia in children: a current review of the literature

“…Another factor affecting the reliability of studies is the methodology for collecting information on the refractive error. Some of the studies were based on a refractive error questionnaire alone [7][8][9]. In one of them, the questionnaire was filled in by children aged 6 to 12 years, who were asked about wearing spectacles for refractive error correction.…”

“…In one of them, the questionnaire was filled in by children aged 6 to 12 years, who were asked about wearing spectacles for refractive error correction. However, spectacle correction may have been used not only to remedy myopia, but also hyperopia, astigmatism, and the angle of ocular deviation in strabismus, which was not specified in the questionnaire [8]. Regarding ophthalmological examinations, the review included studies based on both non-cycloplegic assessment [10,11] and evaluation with the use of tropicamide [12,13] or cyclopentolate eye drops [14].…”

“…The results obtained in the study group were compared to the control group that was not subject to any intervention [11]. An interesting comparison of the level of physical activity was made between children taking part in extra-curricular school activities and those attending sports club practice [8]. Under-or overestimation of the amount of physical activity in questionnaires is a well-known phenomenon.…”