Association between nutritional factors and myopia in adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Background Myopia is a highly prevalent eye disorder among adolescents, and an increasing body of research indicates that nutritional factors may have a significant impact on its development. However, the nature and extent of these relationships remain unclear. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to comprehensively evaluate the associations between various nutritional factors, including carbohydrates, proteins, cholesterol, and sodium, and myopia in adolescents. Methods Multiple databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Embase, were systematically searched up to February 15, 2025. The inclusion criteria encompassed observational studies published in English, involving adolescents (aged 6–18 years), and reporting data on the intake of the selected nutritional factors and myopia status. Two reviewers independently screened studies, extracted data, and assessed study quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for continuous outcomes. Random-effects models were applied to account for potential heterogeneity. Results A total of 7 articles (8 studies) involving 45,993 adolescents were included. Pooled analysis revealed significant associations between nutritional factors and myopia risk. Higher carbohydrate intake was positively linked to myopia (SMD = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.22–0.50, I2 = 94.8%, p < 0.001), while protein intake showed a protective effect (SMD = −0.25, 95% CI: −0.27 to −0.23, I2 = 44.0%, p < 0.001). Cholesterol intake was associated with increased myopia risk (SMD = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.10–0.31, I2 = 91.7%, p < 0.001), and sodium intake demonstrated a strong positive association (SMD = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.93–1.22, I2 = 96.0%, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of results, and no publication bias was detected. Conclusion This study suggests potential associations between nutritional factors and myopia in adolescents. Carbohydrates, cholesterol, and sodium were positively associated with myopia, whereas proteins showed a possible protective effect. However, given the small number of available studies, the predominance of cross-sectional designs, and substantial heterogeneity, these findings should be considered preliminary. Future well-designed, longitudinal or interventional studies are required to confirm these associations before any firm dietary recommendations can be made for myopia prevention.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.012 | 0.027 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.019 | 0.033 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.007 | 0.007 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.003 | 0.002 |
| Open science | 0.002 | 0.001 |
| Research integrity | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.003 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".