{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T22:17:53Z","timestamp":1790979473769,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,4]],"date-time":"2024-10-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1728000000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Near-sightedness, or myopia, is becoming more prevalent worldwide, but its etiopathogenesis is not fully understood. This review examines the potential protective role of green spaces in reducing myopia prevalence among children and adolescents, based on recent epidemiological studies from various countries. The studies consistently used the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to quantify green space exposure. The analysis reveals a significant inverse relationship between exposure to green space and the risk of developing myopia, across multiple studies. For example, a 0.1 increase in NDVI within various buffer zones around schools was associated with a 6.3\u20138.7% reduction in myopia prevalence. Higher residential greenness within a 100-meter buffer around homes was linked to a 38% reduction in the risk of developing myopia among preschool children. The protective effect was observed across different age groups, from preschoolers to high school students. Urban planning factors, such as the size, connectivity, and aggregation of green spaces, also influenced myopia risk. These findings suggest that increasing access to green spaces in urban environments may be an effective strategy for myopia prevention, with important implications for public health and urban planning policies.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1473995","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,4]],"date-time":"2024-10-04T00:35:07Z","timestamp":1728002107000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["The protective role of green spaces in mitigating myopia prevalence"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Guy","family":"Barnett-Itzhaki","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zohar","family":"Barnett-Itzhaki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Daphna","family":"Mezad-Koursh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1036","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ophtha.2016.01.006","article-title":"Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050","volume":"123","author":"Holden","year":"2016","journal-title":"Ophthalmology"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"156","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aopr.2024.06.003","article-title":"Complications of high myopia: an update from clinical manifestations to underlying mechanisms","volume":"4","author":"Du","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv Ophthalmol Pract Res"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1167\/iovs.61.4.49","article-title":"The complications of myopia: a review and meta-analysis","volume":"61","author":"Haarman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci"},{"key":"ref4","article-title":"Urban green spaces and health","year":"2016"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1105","DOI":"10.1007\/s12061-024-09578-7","article-title":"The impacts of visible green spaces on the mental well-being of university students","author":"Bai","year":"2024","journal-title":"Appl Spat Anal Policy"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"60","DOI":"10.1016\/j.preteyeres.2017.06.003","article-title":"Dopamine signaling and myopia development: what are the key challenges","volume":"61","author":"Zhou","year":"2017","journal-title":"Prog Retin Eye Res"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"103","DOI":"10.1177\/00139165231167165","article-title":"Nature exposure is associated with reduced smartphone use","volume":"55","author":"Minor","year":"2023","journal-title":"Environ Behav"},{"key":"ref8","first-page":"309","article-title":"Monitoring vegetation systems in the Great Plains with ERTS","volume":"351","author":"Rouse","year":"1974","journal-title":"NASA Spec Publ"},{"key":"ref9","first-page":"615","article-title":"Refractive error in children in a rural population in India","volume":"43","author":"Dandona","year":"2002","journal-title":"Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"256","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2016.10.026","article-title":"Green spaces and spectacles use in schoolchildren in Barcelona","volume":"152","author":"Dadvand","year":"2017","journal-title":"Environ Res"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"894","DOI":"10.1001\/archophthalmol.2010.134","article-title":"Use of visual acuity to screen for significant refractive errors in adolescents: is it reliable?","volume":"128","author":"Leone","year":"2010","journal-title":"Arch Ophthalmol"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110976","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envres.2021.110976","article-title":"Association between greater residential greenness and decreased risk of preschool myopia and astigmatism","volume":"196","author":"Huang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ Res"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.1001\/jamaophthalmol.2023.6015","article-title":"Green space morphology and school myopia in China","volume":"142","author":"Yang","year":"2024","journal-title":"JAMA Ophthalmol"},{"key":"ref14","article-title":"Association of built environment attributes with screening myopia among children and adolescents: large-sample, cross-sectional, observational evidence from Shanghai, China. 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