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Although the reasons for the increasing rates are complicated, there are likely to be a number of factors that are contributing, a number of studies consistently point to a lack of outdoor time as being one of the major risk factors for developing myopia.
造成近视率上升的原因很复杂，不过有一系列因素可能发挥了重大影响，许多研究都持续指出：户外时间不足是造成近视的主要风险因素。
One theory for the connection between a lack of outdoor time and an increased risk for developing myopia is the effect of outdoor light on stimulating the release of dopamine, which acts as a signal to slow eye growth.
有关户外时间不足与近视几率上升这二者之间关系的一个理论称，户外光线具有刺激多巴胺释放的作用，而多巴胺可以作为减缓眼球生长的信号。
"Brighter light releases more inhibition of eye growth," which prevents the eye from growing too long, says Ian Morgan, a professor at Australia National University, whose research focuses on myopia.
澳大利亚国立大学教授伊恩·摩根的研究集中在近视领域，摩根说，“光线越亮，对眼球生长的抑制越多，”从而阻止眼球变得过长。
What is less clear is the effect of screen-time and near-work -- such as reading -- on the risk for developing myopia.
屏幕时间和近距离工作（比如阅读）对近视风险的影响尚不清楚。
"These rates of myopia going up started before the first iPhone was introduced," says David Berntsen, an optometrist at the University of Houston, whose research focuses on myopia.
“这波近视率的上升在第一代iPhone出现前就开始了。”休斯顿大学验光师戴维·伯恩斯坦说，伯恩斯坦的研究重点是近视问题。
Some studies suggest that screen-time and near-work are linked to a greater risk of developing myopia, while other studies don't show a link.
一些研究表明，屏幕时间和近距离工作会导致近视风险提高，而其他研究则没有显示出这种联系。
To explore whether there were interventions could slow vision changes, researchers launched the BLINK study in which 294 children between the ages of 7 to 11 received contacts lens -- some regular, single-vision contact lens, some bifocal -- which have been shown in previous studies to slow down the progression of myopia.
为了探查是否存在可以减缓视力变化进程的干预手段，研究人员发起了“眨眼研究”，跟踪调查了294位年龄在7到11岁的隐形眼镜儿童佩戴者，他们当中有的佩戴常规单光镜片，也有些使用双光镜片；此前的研究表明，双光镜片能够减缓近视的进程。
(Both Berntsen and Walline were involved in the BLINK study.)
（“眨眼研究”采纳了伯恩斯坦和沃林的研究发现。）
These special contact lens, which are usually prescribed to older patients who need bifocal glasses, focus most of the light on the retina, giving the wearer clear central vision, while also causing a small amount of light in the peripheral vision to focus just in front of the retina.
双光镜片这类特殊的隐形眼镜通常用于年龄较大的患者，他们需要双光镜片来使大部分光线集中落在视网膜上，从而获取清晰的中心视力，同时让外围视觉上的一小部分光聚焦在视网膜前面。
This slight blurring of the peripheral vision seems to act as a signal to the eye to slow its growth.
由此形成的外围视觉的轻微模糊似乎是一种令眼球减缓生长的信号。
"I didn't notice anything hugely different (about my vision)," while wearing these contacts, says Katie Krueger, a junior at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, who was a participant in the BLINK study.
田纳西州克利夫兰李大学大三学生凯蒂·克鲁格是“眨眼研究”的参与者，她表示：“当佩戴这种隐形眼镜时，我没注意到（我的视力）有什么巨大改变。”
The fact that she didn't detect a difference indicates her vision was fully functional with the contacts.
她并未感觉到任何不同，这表明她的视力在佩戴双光隐形眼镜时能发挥完整功能。
For Krueger, although her vision worsened a little over the next few years, it eventually stabilized, leaving her with mild myopia.
尽管几年后，她的视力稍有变差，但最终稳固下来，近视程度较轻。
In other studies, daily use of a special eye drop, called low-concentration atropine, has been shown to also slow the progression of myopia.
其他研究显示，每日使用一种特殊眼药水--低浓度阿托品--也能减缓近视进程。
At regular concentrations of about 1 percent, atropine is used to dilate the pupil for eye exams.
浓度为1%的阿托品通常被用于在眼科检查中放大瞳孔。
But at very low concentrations, usually between 0.01 to 0.05 percent solution, atropine drops just before bed has been shown to slow the growth of the eyeball.
而浓度为0.01%到0.05%的阿托品药水在临床上表现出减缓眼球生长的功效。
At this time however, there are still questions about which dose is the most effective, and whether the effectiveness varies for different children.
虽然如此，我们仍面临何种剂量更为有效、以及药效在不同儿童之间是否存在差异的问题。
Although the details are still being fine-tuned, it's a promising treatment.
尽管相关细节尚在调整中，不过低浓度阿托品已然很有希望成为有效的治疗方案。
"Using either of those treatments appears to slow down the rate of the growth of the eye by about 50 to 60 percent," Onken says. "We can't bring the train to a stop, but we can slow it down."
“采取两个方案中的任意一种，似乎都能将眼球增长速度减少50%到60%，”昂肯说，“我们没法停下列车，但我们可以让它减速。”
Researchers are starting to come up with ways to stop the progression of myopia before it starts.
研究人员正开始寻找在近视发生前就阻止进程的方法。
To do this, they are trying to predict which children will develop myopia.
为此，他们尝试预测哪些儿童可能患上近视。
"The fastest eye growth is actually just before you become nearsighted," Walline says.
“实际上眼睛生长最快的时期就在你近视之前。”沃林说。
Walline, along with collaborators, are working on setting up clinical trials to either prevent or delay the onset of myopia in children, using low-dose atropine eye drops.
沃林与合作者们协力搭建临床试验，用低剂量的阿托品药水试图预防或推迟儿童近视的形成。
This study will be similar to others that have been conducted in the past, outside the United States, which show that low-dose atropine eye drops can delay the onset of myopia in children.
这项研究将与过去在美国以外进行的其他研究类似，这些研究都表明，低剂量阿托品药水可以延缓儿童近视的发生。
Then, if a child does develop myopia, the treatment for slowing it down is the same as it is for preventing its onset.
如果试验发现孩子已经近视，便可以采取与预防方案相同的疗法，减缓近视进程。
One day, the goal is to be able to offer these options to all children who are at risk of developing myopia.
将来某天，我们的目标是向所有存在近视风险的儿童提供这些选项。
"This has huge benefits just in terms of practical living and huge benefits in terms of the potential long-term consequences," Morgan says. "I think we'll see over the next 10 years this will just become standard, optometrical practice."
“这不仅在实际生活收效显著，而且在潜在长期后果的预防上也有巨大好处，”摩根说，“我认为未来10年中，这将成为基础的临床验光实践。”
