Light Signaling and Myopia Development: A Review

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this article was to comprehensively review the relationship between light exposure and myopia with a focus on the effects of the light wavelength, illuminance, and contrast on the occurrence and progression of myopia. METHODS: This review was performed by searching PubMed data sets including research articles and reviews utilizing the terms “light”, “myopia”, “refractive error”, and “illuminance”, and the review was concluded in November 2021. Myopia onset and progression were closely linked with emmetropization and hyperopia. To better elucidate the mechanism of myopia, some of the articles that focused on this topic were included. This article is based on previously conducted studies and does not contain any new studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. RESULTS: The pathogenesis and prevention of myopia are not completely clear. Studies have provided evidence supporting the idea that light could affect eye growth in three ways. Changing the corresponding conditions will cause changes in the growth rate and mode of the eyes, and preliminary results have shown that FR/NIR (far red/near-infrared) light is effective for myopia in juveniles. CONCLUSION: This review discusses the results of studies on the effects of light exposure on myopia with the aims of providing clues and a theoretical basis for the use of light to control the development of myopia and offering new ideas for subsequent studies.