Oct. 2, 2024 — Prevent Blindness has released a statement praising the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Focus on Myopia: Pathogenesis and Rising Incidence for its newly released report. Available online for free, “Myopia: Causes, Prevention, and Treatment of an Increasingly Common Disease,” examines the rising incidence of myopia and its broad impact on health, education, and individual potential.

The report recommends that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with state education departments, ensure that children receive vision screenings before first grade and, if necessary, comprehensive eye exams. It also calls for a national data surveillance system to track vision screening outcomes, referrals, and sociodemographic factors such as age, race, and geographic location.

The recommendations align with the goals of the recently introduced Early Detection of Vision Impairments Act, a federal bill supported by many of the same organizations involved in the NASEM report.

A contributing developer of the report, Prevent Blindness highlighted the importance of surveillance through its Children’s Vision Health Map, a tool developed by NORC at the University of Chicago using data from the Vision and Eye Health Surveillance System. The map offers insight into the relationship between visual acuity loss and social determinants of health.