This news should be of great relief to those glued to their PCs or constantly fiddling with their mobiles. Myopia has nothing to do with doing close visual work or constantly texting or SMSing. Also, don't make parents guilty of their children becoming myopic because they make them study all the time!
Startling revelation
One-third of students of Andhra Medical College (38 per cent out of 275 who faced queries) have higher than normal blood pressure, 10 are hypertensive, but surprisingly unaware of it.
These are among the few points that came to light in the studies made by Gautham and Zeeshan of AMC on myopia and hypertension respectively in the research projects sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research under the summer termship for medical students.
The two presented their results at the AMC Research Forum. Gautham and Zeeshan will be going to Coimbatore next month to present their papers at a conference there.
Gautham, who was fascinated that the cause of myopia, despite being a common disorder, has eluded scientists, conducted his survey under the guidance of Superintendent of Government Eye Hospital Mohan Rao and found that myopes are more likely to have one or both parents with myopia than those with normal eyesight, with the risk factor of more than one-and-a-half times. The survey also did not find any relation to dietary carbohydrate intake, one of the suggested factors in the etiology (causes and origins of a disease) of myopia.
Prof. Krishna Prasad, who reviewed the study, said it was a myth that educated parents force their children to read more, thus making them myopes. Rather, educated parents were more likely to seek ophthalmologic advice for their children whose myopia was thus recognised earlier. Zeeshan, in his study, says that pre-hypertension is a recently introduced term to identify high-risk subjects so that appropriate lifestyle modification may be advised to them to reduce their weight, quit smoking, exercise more so as to prevent progression to hypertension and its related risks. He also found that this group of pre-hypertensives tends to have a higher weight and a waist circumference. Their glucose levels and cholesterol levels are however luckily normal and similar to the normotensives.
HoD of Endocrinology Prof. Dileep Kumar advised him to follow-up these students to monitor for any progression to hypertension, diabetes, etc.
Vice-Principal Dr. K. Venkateswarulu appreciated the students' efforts to pursue research projects and advised other students to take up more projects. He also advised that the pre-hypertensives be under periodic supervision at the hospital.
