Myopia Genetic?

I have seen a lot of people that say myopia is genetic.
I am nearsighted, but only two people in my extended family are (one cousin (out of 48) and one aunt).
So if its genetic, and there doesn't seem to be much a of a genetic link, what else could cause it?

Hello there... I have answered this question before and I have done some research on this, so I hope I can be a help to you :)

The issue if myopia/nearsightedness is purely genetic or if it is the result of tissue alterations influenced by environmental factors is greatly debated!
Many scientists now argue that both factors can be involved in developing myopia/nearsightedness.
Nearsightedness has been linked to several different genes and it has been found to be predominately genetic. It is still not fully understood what causes people genetically susceptible to myopia to develop it while others do not. That is where the environmental factors apparently come into play. This issue is very complex and as of now there is no concrete evidence to actually prove any theory 100 percent. The only thing that has been proven is that genes are involved in developing myopia and many factors are involved! The occurrence of myopia has been increasing in many places and it is thought that lifestyle changes like focusing on close objects, such as computer screens, mobile phones and books may have some involvement in causing myopia in those people genetically susceptible during visual development.
"A study of 506 pairs of twins (both identical and non-identical) confirmed an earlier study by the same group that genes are by far the most important factor with a heritability of 89% - environmental factors only accounted for 11%. "
Research is still not conclusive on this matter so as it stands nearsightedness is predominately genetic, since even small deviations from normal structure cause significant refractive errors, it may be difficult to single out any specific genetic or environmental factor as their cause.
"Only 6%-15% of children with myopia come from families in which neither parent is myopic. In families with one myopic parent, 23%-40% of the children develop myopia. If both parents are myopic, the rate rises to 33%-60% for their children. One American study found that children with two myopic parents are 6.42 times as likely to develop myopia themselves as children with only one or no myopic parents. The precise interplay of genetic and environmental factors in these family patterns, however, is not yet known."


I am interested to see how this unfolds with further research in the future! Check out the links for more info hun :)

hi
there are many reasons causing myopia one of them is genetic.
when we are growing up, all parts of our body grows and change shape and size. the size of our eye ball also increases with our age. generally it grows in a uniform manner causing our vision to stay stable, but sometimes it the growth stopps or it grows more than normal size, which causes the eye difficulty to focus the image of an object on retina ending up in blurr vision, and we have take help of priscription glasses or contacts to make our vision clear.
there are many reasons which causes this unfortunate changes in the growth of eye ball, one of them is genetics. but it can be some hormonal changes in body also which has caused the eye to grow in an abnormal manner. also it depends on the diet and lifestyle from a very young age or even when u r in ur mother's womb. thats why mothers are advised to have a proper diet including all nutrition.
if u have any more doubts u can contact me on kothari_jay55@yahoo.com
i m a qualified optometrist runnin my own optical shop.

Genetics plays a role, but isn't the only reason for myopia. Some of it has to do with eye length. So, like in my case, when my eye was developing, it didn't develop in a perfect sphere..it is wider from front to back, hence making the light images impossible to reach the retina so I could get a clear image. I honestly do not know about my personal family genetics, since I was adopted as a newborn.

It could be the shape of your cornea also.

The main mechanism for myopia is the fact that the light doesn't reach the retina in the back of the eye with a 'clear' image, so it 'fuzzes' out and goes to your brain that way. Glasses and contacts help bend that light and get that focal point to land on the retina the way it should.

Genetics, or just the way your eye is shaped when you are born...some people have problems right away in life, like me, others, the measurements are so close to normal that you notice it more as you grow.

I found a pretty neat article that I've put below. Talks about the predisposition to myopia.