Nearsightedness is of 'female gender' 

Innovative research, based on demographic surveys combined with statistical inference on a child population selected by sex difference.

Refractive problems in the paediatric age, and myopia in particular, are a topic of great topical interest, due to both the important aetiological discoveries of recent years and the worrying increase in myopia, which has been observed in many parts of the world.

On this issue, we propose a work carried out by a team of professionals from Reggio Calabria, consisting of Dr. D. Ferrari G. De Paola, L.L. Iacopino, A. Meucci, A. Rosato, who conducted the study focusing on 'gender', a term that defines the male/female categories not only on the basis of biological differences, i.e. sex, but also on the basis of environmental, socio-cultural and economic factors that condition them.

MYOPIA IS OF 'FEMALE GENDER'
D. Ferrari, G. De Paola, L.L. Iacopino, A. Meucci, A. Rosato

Myopia is the most common refractive defect. It arises and progresses due to excessive elongation of the eyeball and has an increasing incidence worldwide. In fact, today we speak of a myopia epidemic, which can be considered as the result of a natural adaptation process.to the evolutionary evolution of the species to the renewed, highly schooled and technological lifestyle.

Myopia begins in childhood, but progresses with age and it is not uncommon to go from the simple to the degenerative form. It is a multifactorial pathology, with biological differences related to sex, but also to gender. Genetic, epigenetic, environmental and hormonal factors are, in fact, involved in the onset and evolution of the defect itself, which is the result of a genetic-environmental combination.

With reference to the incidence of myopia, the AA conducted a thorough epidemiological survey on the territory of the city of Reggio Calabria, between 2007 and 2020, in which they assessed sex- and gender-related differences in the child population (0-14 y.).

The study method adopted was rigorous because it involved experts from various fields. The master data of those born during the study period was provided by Dr. Sara D'Elia of the demographic service of the Municipality of Reggio Calabria, while the statistical analyses were carried out by Dr. Giovanni Tripepi of the CNR.

Link for PDF download of Nearsightedness is femalecomplete with graphs and bibliographical references

Dr. Carmelo Chines
Direttore responsabile