Myopia and Stature: Findings in a Population of 106,926 Males

Abstract

We conducted a nation-wide study of the relationship of myopia with height, weight and body-mass index in order to confirm observations that myopic persons are taller than non-myopes. From a review of the data of 106,926, consecutive male military recruits aged 17 to 19 years, we found that myopia is associated neither with higher stature nor with greater weight. Persons with severe myopia were slightly shorter (172.8± 7.1 cm) and weighed less (62.6± 11.0 kg) than those with mild myopia (173.3± 6.9 cm and 63.8± 10.5 kg respectively), while the non-myopes were taller (173.7± 6.7 cm) and heavier (63.9± 10.2 kg) than the myopes (p=0.0001). The mean body-mass index was only slightly smaller among the myopes (21.1± 3.1 kg/m2) than among the non-myopes (21.2± 2.9 kg/m2, p=0.0001).