Topic Overview

Most inherited eye diseases that can cause or be associated with nearsightedness are rare. Common inherited diseases include:

• Nyctalopia (night blindness).
• Achromatopsia (disease of the cones or rods in the retina).
• Nystagmus (rhythmic jerking movements of the eyes).
• Keratoconus (progressive thinning of the central cornea, which gives the cornea a cone-shaped appearance).
• Retinitis pigmentosa (degeneration of the retina that affects night vision and side [peripheral] vision).
• Infantile glaucoma.

Other genetic diseases associated with nearsightedness include:

• Certain rare connective tissue disorders.
• Albinism, a genetic pigment deficiency that causes milky skin, white hair, and pink or blue eyes.
• Down syndrome.
• Homocystinuria, a genetic condition that causes developmental delays, failure to thrive, and neurological abnormalities.
• Turner syndrome, which causes short stature and lack of sexual development at puberty in females.
• Trisomy 22, which causes severe intellectual disability and eye defects.