Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Myopia rates among Hadza hunter‐gatherers are low but not exceptional

Stibbard‐Hawkes, Duncan N.E.; Apicella, Coren L.

Myopia rates among Hadza hunter‐gatherers are low but not exceptional Thumbnail


Authors

Coren L. Apicella



Abstract

Myopia rates are increasing globally. This epidemic is linked to increased school participation, decreased outdoor activity and the proliferation of near-work occupations. The Tanzanian Hadza have traditionally subsisted as hunter-gatherers. School participation has historically been low and near-work otherwise minimal. Previous studies have reported exceptionally low myopia rates among hunter-gatherers, though such studies are few. The present study aims to expand this dataset. We report Hadza myopia rates and compare them to those from other economic/subsistence niches. We look for temporal changes in eyesight, in line with changing Hadza subsistence. Further, we assess the impact two known myopia risk factors, gender and educational participation, on Hadza eyesight. Materials and Methods We measured visual acuity among 182 bush-living Hadza aged 10–75 using a non-Latin optotype. From these measures, we estimate age-specific myopia prevalences. Results We find age-specific myopia prevalences between 5% and 10% for individuals under 40, increasing thereafter. This is low compared to industrialized populations, although not atypical for rural and non-industrialized populations. Unlike previous studies of hunter-gatherers, myopia was not exceptionally rare. We find that Hadza men have better distance vision than Hadza women. Though the Hadza have experienced subsistence change, we find no statistical evidence of associated decreases in visual acuity between 2006 and 2013/14 after controlling for gender imbalances. Finally, we find no support for our prediction that schooling participation reduces visual acuity, though so few attended school (13 of 58) that this analysis lacked statistical power and probably represents a false negative.

Citation

Stibbard‐Hawkes, D. N., & Apicella, C. L. (2022). Myopia rates among Hadza hunter‐gatherers are low but not exceptional. American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 179(4), 655-667. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24611

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 4, 2022
Online Publication Date Sep 3, 2022
Publication Date 2022-12
Deposit Date Oct 25, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal American Journal of Biological Anthropology
Electronic ISSN 2692-7691
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 179
Issue 4
Pages 655-667
DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.24611

Files

Published Journal Article (1.8 Mb)
PDF

Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.





You might also like



Downloadable Citations