Impact of online classes and home confinement on myopia progression in children during COVID-19 pandemic: Digital eye strain among kids (DESK) study 4

Mohan, Akhilesh; Sen, Pradhnya; Peeush, Parimal; Shah, Chintan; Jain, Elesh

doi:10.4103/ijo.ijo_1721_21

Cited by 40 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Several previous studies have reported on myopic progression in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. [15][16][17] However, no evidence regarding adult myopia progression has been collected during the same period. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the outbreak of COVID-19-related myopia progression in early adulthood.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outbreak of COVID-19-Related Myopia Progression in Adults: A Preliminary Study

Kohmarn¹,

Srisurattanamethakul²,

Watcharapalakorn³

et al. 2022

OPTO

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Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated specific public health measures, resulting in the alteration of lifestyles, such as increased digital screen time and fewer outdoor activities. Such conditions have increased the progression of myopia in children. However, no investigation of myopia progression in early adulthood has been conducted during this period. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the outbreak of COVID-19-related myopia progression among adults at an optometry clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods This was a retrospective cohort study in which participants aged 18–25 years who first visited (baseline) the optometry clinic between June 2019 and March 2020 were recruited for follow-up from November 2021 to March 2022. Spherical equivalent refraction (SER), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCDVA), and binocular cross cylinder (BCC) were recorded at baseline and a follow-up visit. Using questionnaires, a survey was conducted to assess the lifestyle changes that transpired during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results In total, 37 participants with a mean age of 22.5±1.4 years were enrolled, of which 89.2% were female. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most participants self-reported increased daily use of digital devices (89.2%), online education (86.5%), and spending more time at home (94.6%), which increased by approximately 7.6±3.2 hours, 5.9±1.7 hours, and 13.2±7.5 hours, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between SER and BCC at baseline and after approximately 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic ( p < 0.05). The mean two-year myopia progression was −0.59±0.67 D (Maximum = 0.00 D, Minimum = −3.38 D). Conclusion This study revealed that myopia could progress during adulthood among those who have lived under public health measures intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outbreak of COVID-19-Related Myopia Progression in Adults: A Preliminary Study

Kohmarn¹,

Srisurattanamethakul²,

Watcharapalakorn³

et al. 2022

OPTO

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Overall, the main ocular effects observed were refractive errors (myopia), accommodation disturbances (esotropia) and visual symptoms (dry eye and fatigue) (table 1). Among the studies, 16 were conducted in Asia, [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] 2 in Europe 29 30 and 3 in America. 31 32 The risk of bias assessment revealed that all of the cross-sectional studies and case series had a low risk of bias.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s visual health: a systematic review

et al. 2022

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ObjectivesIncreased exposure to digital devices as part of online classes increases susceptibility to visual impairments, particularly among school students taught using e-learning strategies. This study aimed to identify the impact of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s visual health.DesignSystematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines.Data sourcesScopus, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases from the year 2020 onwards.Eligibility criteriaWe included cross-sectional, case–control, cohort studies, case series and case reports, published in English, Spanish or French, that approached the effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on visual health in neurotypical children.Data extraction and synthesisWe included a total of 21 articles with previous quality assessments using the Joanna Briggs checklist. Risk of bias assessment was applied using the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool for before-and-after studies with no control group; the tool developed by Hoy et al to assess cross-sectional studies; the Murad et al tool to evaluate the methodological quality of case reports and case series; and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for cohort studies.ResultsAll but one study reported a deleterious impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on visual health in children. Overall, the most frequently identified ocular effects were refractive errors, accommodation disturbances and visual symptoms such as dry eye and asthenopia.ConclusionsIncreased dependence on digital devices for online classes has either induced or exacerbated visual disturbances, such as rapid progression of myopia, dry eye and visual fatigue symptoms, and vergence and accommodation disturbances, in children who engaged in remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42022307107.

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“…In India, complete lockdown started at the end of March 2020 and resulted in the confinement of school-going children from April to October 2020. Mohan et al compared the rate of progression of myopia pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic in a study involving 133 children aged 6–18 [ 21 ]. The group found that 62.4% of children showed progression during the pandemic as compared with 45.9% prior to it.…”

Section: Worldwide Impact Of Covid-19 On Myopiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study by Liu et al showed that lighting conditions were associated with symptoms of myopic progression [ 16 ]. However, most of these behavioral investigations were dependent on self-reporting [ 16 , 21 , 23 ], which may have introduced response bias. Ideally, a more objective method should be used for these measurements.…”

Section: Preventive Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Let Us Avoid a ‘Myopic View’ in Times of COVID-19

2022

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people from almost all facets of life and it’s impact is extremely palpable among students. In this review paper, we discuss about the risk factors for myopia progression that were exacerbated by the pandemic, which are supported by evidence from studies published recently. It is imperative that measures are put in place to address the rising incidence of myopia so as to prevent the impending myopia pandemic.

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Impact of online classes and home confinement on myopia progression in children during COVID-19 pandemic: Digital eye strain among kids (DESK) study 4

Cited by 40 publications

References 19 publications

Outbreak of COVID-19-Related Myopia Progression in Adults: A Preliminary Study

Outbreak of COVID-19-Related Myopia Progression in Adults: A Preliminary Study

Effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s visual health: a systematic review

Let Us Avoid a ‘Myopic View’ in Times of COVID-19

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