Eye expert links school-age vision decline to prolonged near focus

ANBAR, Iraq — A Russian ophthalmologist has identified sustained near-focus strain as the main driver of declining visual acuity in school-age children, warning that the condition typically emerges between ages 7 and 9. Prof. Dr. İgor Aznuryan said in a newly published study that children who spend long periods looking at notebooks, books or phone screens experience elongation of the eyeball as the eye attempts to conserve energy, a process he termed "school myopia." The adaptation does not occur overnight, he noted, but develops over several years, with first-grade students largely unaffected until cumulative near-work time crosses a critical threshold. By the eighth grade, more than half of students experience some degree of myopia, according to Aznuryan, as the eyeball adjusts to sustained strain during the early school years. He added that families often seek medical help only after the condition has advanced, having earlier attributed the symptoms to ordinary fatigue. Signs that may indicate vision problems in school-age children include squinting at signs or bus numbers, leaning excessively forward while reading, evening headaches and a persistent sensation of sand in the eyes, the professor said.