Rising Rates of Myopia‑Linked Retinal Detachments in the US

Paper title: Prevalence of Myopia-Related Retinal Detachments in a Multi-Institutional United States Platform From 2015 to 2024

Authors: David Zhang (1); Nadia J Abbass (1,2); Hejin Jeong (1,2); David C Kaelber (3,4), Rishi P Singh (2,5,6,7); Katherine E Talcott (2,5,7)

1. Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA.
2. Center for Ophthalmic Bioinformatics, Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
3. Departments of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
4. The Center for Clinical Informatics Research and Education, The MetroHealth System, Cleveland, OH, USA.
5. Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, OH, USA.
6. Cleveland Clinic Martin Hospitals, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Stuart, FL, USA.
7. Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Date: Feb 2016

References: Zhang D, Abbass NJ, Jeong H, Kaelber DC, Singh RP, Talcott KE. Prevalence of Myopia-Related Retinal Detachments in a Multi-Institutional United States Platform From 2015 to 2024. J Vitreoretin Dis. 2026 Feb 23:24741264261418511.

[Link to abstract]

Increasing myopia prevalence in the United States has raised concerns whether associated complications, including retinal detachment (RD), were also increasing in frequency. Existing evidence on RD trends in myopic patients is limited, and prior findings have been inconsistent. 

This retrospective cross‑sectional study analysed national RD prevalence patterns in myopic patients over a 10‑year period by examining electronic health record data from the TriNetX Research USA network, including 1,094,920 patients aged 10 years and older with a diagnosis of myopia. Retinal detachment cases were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD‑10) codes and Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) procedure codes. Prevalence was calculated per 100,000 outpatient visits and stratified by year, age, sex, and race/ethnicity. The analysis also explored trends in cataract surgery as a comorbidity.

Key findings were as follows

• Myopia‑related RD prevalence increased from 1539 to 4069 cases per 100,000 visits between 2015 and 2024.
• Male patients had higher RD prevalence than female patients in 2024 (4887 vs 3561 cases per 100,000).
• Asian patients showed the highest prevalence (4544 cases per 100,000), followed by White, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino groups.
• Prevalence increased with age, peaking at 7550 cases per 100,000 in patients aged 70–79 years
• Cataract surgery prevalence in myopic patients increased from 1751 to 8812 cases per 100,000 during the study period

These findings suggest that retinal detachment (RD) in myopic patients may be encountered more frequently than in previous years. The rising prevalence across all demographic groups reinforces the importance of discussing RD symptoms such as flashes, floaters and sudden visual field loss with myopic patients of all ages.

Demographic patterns may help guide risk‑awareness conversations. Male myopic patients demonstrated 1.37 times higher recorded prevalence than female patients in this dataset. Asian patients had the highest prevalence among racial and ethnic groups, followed by White, Black or African and Hispanic or Latino patients. Age-stratified data showed that older adults, particularly those aged 70 to 79 years, had the highest recorded prevalence, but increases were seen across all age groups. While these patterns cannot predict individual risk, they may support more tailored education for patients with additional risk factors, including a history of cataract surgery.

The concurrent rise in cataract surgery prevalence among myopic patients is also relevant, as postoperative RD is a recognised risk in this population. This trend may help clinicians identify patients who could benefit from closer monitoring after surgery or clearer guidance on when to seek urgent care.

Overall, the results highlight the value of reinforcing symptom awareness, ensuring timely referral pathways and maintaining a low threshold for urgent assessment when myopic patients report acute visual changes. The coding‑based approach used in this study cannot show whether myopia contributed to each RD event. Some events may have occurred for reasons unrelated to myopia, so the trends should be interpreted cautiously.

This study used diagnostic and procedural codes from US electronic health records to identify myopia and retinal detachment (RD). These codes confirm that both conditions were recorded in the same patients, but they do not show whether myopia contributed to the RD event. A patient with myopia may experience an RD for reasons such as trauma or lattice degeneration, and the coding system cannot distinguish these scenarios. Coding also does not capture myopia severity, which limits the ability to explore differences across low, moderate and high myopia and reduces the specificity of the findings.

Key anatomical factors like axial length measurements were not assessed, which would help clarify whether longer eyes are becoming more common or whether other factors drive increased detachment rates. The overlap with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) pandemic period raises questions about whether changes in healthcare‑seeking behaviour or delayed diagnoses influenced observed trends.

The study could not determine whether RD occurred before or after cataract surgery, nor assess individual‑level risk factors such as refractive severity, near‑work patterns or family history. Variation in coding practices across institutions may also have influenced the patterns observed.

Future research incorporating refractive error or axial length data, validated case definitions and prospective designs would help clarify the relationship between myopia and RD risk and identify which patients may benefit most from enhanced monitoring.

Purpose: To evaluate prevalence trends of myopia-related retinal detachment (RD) in the United States from 2015 to 2024, with additional stratification by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. 

Methods: This serial cross-sectional study used the Research USA No Date Shift Network on the TriNetX platform. Using the International Classification of Diseases-10 and Current Procedural Terminology codes, retinal detachment cases were evaluated in a cohort of myopic patients. Retinoschisis, retinal cysts, and retinal breaks without detachment were excluded. Prevalence was stratified by age, sex, and race/ethnicity and reported per 100 000 outpatient visits, excluding patients younger than 10 years or with unknown sex. Prevalence ratios and 95% CIs were calculated. 

Results: Myopia-related RD prevalence increased from 1539 to 4069 cases per 100 000 from the years 2015 to 2024 (prevalence ratio, 2.64; 95% CI, 2.59-2.70). Male patients had the highest prevalence, with 4887 cases per 100 000, compared with 3561 cases per 100 000 in female patients (prevalence ratio, 2.75; 95% CI, 2.54-2.97) in 2024. Asian patients had the highest prevalence, with 4544 cases per 100 000, while Hispanic/Latino patients had the lowest prevalence at 3085 cases per 100 000 (prevalence ratio, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.39-1.57) in 2024. Patients aged 70 to 79 years had the highest prevalence, at 7550 cases per 100 000 in 2024. All demographic categories experienced an increase in myopia-related RD prevalence during the 10-year period. 

Conclusions: Our study demonstrated an increase in myopia-related RD prevalence, predominantly affecting White and Asian populations, male patients, and older patients.

 Link to abstract]