More children may develop myopia as an unexpected side effect of the Covid-19 epidemic, a new study suggests.
An analysis of eye tests on nearly 2,000 school-age children in Hong Kong showed that the level of myopia during the epidemic more than doubled that found in an epidemiological study of children of the same age. British Ophthalmology Magazine.
"When people think about the consequences of this unprecedented level of quarantine on physical and mental health, it is not clear from the outset that children's visual development is one of them," said study co-author Dr. Ason Eason SS Yam. Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, said e.
"Our study showed that less time spent outside, more time at work, including screen time, is associated with short-sightedness or faster myopia progress," Yam said.
"While myopia may seem like an innocent condition, it can predispose people to other eye complications and an increased risk of vision loss in the future," he said.
To investigate whether the epidemic could affect children's eyes, Yam և and his colleagues collected 709 children aged 6 to 8 years between January and August 2020, with an average of 7.89 months behind them. The researchers then compared data from a group of 1,084 children. the same age group that was studied before the advent of Covid.
Children should put down their computers and spend more time outdoors.
The annual incidence of myopia during the epidemic was 26.98%, which was twice as much as the annual epidemic of 11.63% in the pre-epidemic group.
The researchers also looked at how much the length of the axis changes over time, measured from the cornea to the eye. For children with advanced myopia, the axis length increases with age, so if the eye could see in profile, it would look longer than a circle. The estimated annual change in core length among children during the epidemic was 0.45 millimeters, compared to 0.28 in the pre-Covidus group.
Scientists have also found "significant changes" in the lifestyle of children during the restrictions of Covid. Outdoor time was reduced by 68% and screen time by 2.8 times.
"Increasing outdoor time has consistently demonstrated the many studies conducted in various countries that have a protective role against the development of myopia and are a priority for international recommendations for short-term strategies," Yam said.
Animal studies have shown that outdoor light helps protect against myopia by "increasing dopamine secretion in the retina, which prevents the eyeball from lengthening," says Yam.
Dr. screens for the last 18 months.
"In our office, we've seen a lot of kids come in more progress than you'd expect," Frempong said. "Children need to put their computers down and spend more time outside, not just for eyesight, but for obesity."
How much time should children spend outside?
At least two hours a day, said Frempong.
A new study suggests that there may be a large increase in the number of children with myopia.
One of the problems with staying home with children is that many do not get the eye tests they normally get at school, Collins said. "Some of the symptoms may alert parents to eye problems, such as 'frown, rubbing too much, and complaints of eye strain,'" he said.
For some, glasses may not be the whole solution, Collins said. "When the eyes are extended, it increases the risk of problems such as retinal detachment and other retinal problems that can threaten vision," he said.
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