Outdoor activity and myopia in Singapore teenage children.

AIM: To investigate the relationship of outdoor activities and myopia in Singapore teenage children. METHODS: Teenage children (1249 participants), examined in the Singapore Cohort study Of Risk factors for Myopia (SCORM), during 2006 were included in analyses. Participants completed questionnaires that quantified total outdoor activity, and underwent an eye examination. RESULTS: The mean total time spent on outdoor activity was 3.24 h/day. The total outdoor activity (h/day) was significantly associated with myopia, odds ratio 0.90 (95% CI 0.84 to 0.96) (p = 0.004), after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, school type, books read per week, height, parental myopia, parental education and intelligence quotient. In addition, the total time spent outdoors was associated with significantly less myopic refraction (regression coefficient = 0.17; CI 0.10 to 0.25, p