Summer babies more likely to develop short-sightedness

Children are more likely to become shortsighted if they are born during the summer or play computer games.

Summer birth appeared to almost double the risk while hours on video games had a similar effect.

Children are more likely to become shortsighted if they are born during the summer or play computer games.

Summer birth appeared to almost double the risk while hours on video games had a similar effect, researchers at King’s College London said.

Because children born in the UK during summer start school almost a year younger than their peers, the impact on eye growth of earlier exposure to “close work” such as reading might play a role.

Previous studies have attributed the increased risk of myopia to more exposure to natural light as newborns, although the researchers said that their findings did not support that theory.

Time spent playing computer games might mean less time spent outdoors, which has previously been linked to a higher risk of short-sightedness.

While the risk was slightly smaller than that for summer birth the scientists said the data used was from before the era of mobile devices and social media, so the problem could be growing.

Myopia is becoming common worldwide, with about 4.6 billion people globally expected to be affected by 2050, up from about 2 billion in 2010.

The research, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, involved 1,991 twins aged 16, born between 1994 and 1996 in the UK.

The study is observational and cannot prove cause and effect. However, in a linked editorial, experts from Australia and Singapore said environmental factors were now thought to have a greater role than genetic ones.

— The Times