This article was originally published in a sponsored newsletter.
Taiwan has a proud history in myopia research. It was the first country to document the marked increase in myopia and its extraordinary prevalence among university students.1,2 Taiwanese researchers were among the first to conduct careful research on atropine for myopia control,3,4although their work is often overshadowed by the subsequent work in Singapore.5 Because of this research, atropine therapy became a common approach to slowing myopia in Taiwan, although the recent availability of lower concentrations and optical treatments have resulted in a shift in the standard of care and fewer chronically dilated pupils.
Taiwanese researchers have also been at the vanguard of myopia prevention—first with atropine6 and later with increased outdoor activity.7 A key player in this work is Pei-Chang Wu. In an academic world populated by large egos and sharp elbows, Dr. Wu is a breath of fresh air. He is insightful and articulate, but also soft-spoken and humble.
Dr. Wu is a major driving force behind Tian-Tian 120, which translates to “every day 120,” which has become a cornerstone of Taiwan’s national myopia strategy and represents the number of minutes a child should spend outside each day. The results of the Tian-Tian 120 program have reversed the increase in myopia prevalence among Taiwanese primary schoolchildren. An extraordinary public health achievement, but with room for further improvement.
If you’d like to learn more about Dr. Wu you can listen to Steely Dan’s Katy Lied, or, better still, read this excellent online article: wired.com/story/taiwan-epicenter-of-world-myopia-epidemic.
1. Lin LL, Shih YF, Lee YC, Jung PT, Hou PK. Changes in ocular refraction and its components among medical students--a 5-year longitudinal study. Optom Vis Sci. 1996 Jul;73:495-498.
2. Lin LL, Shih YF, Tsai CB, et al. Epidemiologic study of ocular refraction among schoolchildren in Taiwan in 1995. Optom Vis Sci. 1999 May;76:275-281.
3. Shih YF, Chen CH, Chou AC, Ho TC, Lin LL, Hung PT. Effects of different concentrations of atropine on controlling myopia in myopic children. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 1999 Feb;15:85-90.
4. Shih YF, Hsiao CK, Chen CJ, Chang CW, Hung PT, Lin LL. An intervention trial on efficacy of atropine and multi-focal glasses in controlling myopic progression. Acta Ophthalmol Scand. 2001 Jun;79:233-236.
5. Chua WH, Balakrishnan V, Chan YH, et al. Atropine for the treatment of childhood myopia. Ophthalmology. 2006 Dec;113:2285-2291.
6. Fang PC, Chung MY, Yu HJ, Wu PC. Prevention of myopia onset with 0.025% atropine in premyopic children. J Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 2010 Aug;26:341-345.
7. Wu PC, Tsai CL, Wu HL, Yang YH, Kuo HK. Outdoor activity during class recess reduces myopia onset and progression in school children. Ophthalmology. 2013 May;120:1080-1085.
