The time of year a baby is born influences whether he or she will need glasses later in life, according to a new study.

Dr. Yossi Mandel studied more than 276,000 people in Israel from 2000 to 2004 as they entered the military. All had been born in that country, so they would have experienced similar natural light levels before and near birth.

Myopia, the technical term for nearsightedness -- in which distant objects are not seen as clearly -- was mild in 19 percent of the people, moderate in 8.7 percent and severe in 2.4 percent.

The rates of having moderate or severe myopia were lowest for babies born in December or January and highest for babies born in June and July. More than 12.7 percent of people born in the months with the most sun had myopia. In the low-sun months, the rate was just over 11.5 percent.

Researchers also found that, when graphed, moderate and severe myopia rates went up and down as the amount of sunlight around birth went up and down.

A news release from the researchers said that the results were statistically significant, but it did not offer specifics on how much great the effect was.

The work supported previous research that suggest that light exposure before and just after birth can influence how the eyes develop.