Closed at home for months, having tablets, computers and smartphones as the only pastime available to pass the time, even the sight of children was affected by the Covid-19 effect. And, now, after some time comes the damage bulletin that reports an increase in childhood myopia. This is what emerges from a study published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, conducted by scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who evaluated the correlation between the limitations established to stem the spread of Covid-19 and cases of myopia in children.
Research
The researchers looked at data from 1,793 participants in the Hong Kong Children Eye Study, a work involving patients aged six to eight. Between December 2019 and January 2020, 709 small volunteers were recruited and monitored for approximately eight months, while 1,084 children completed a three-year observation period that began before Covid-19. According to the research group’s findings, children in the initial cohort were associated with an average onset rate of 16 percent, while this value increased to 27 percent for cases of myopia developed between January and August 2020, following the spread. of the pandemic.
More hours on the phone, less outdoors
What does the pandemic have to do with worsening vision in children? On the dock there is not the Coronavirus but rather the restrictions that have become necessary to stem the spread of the infection. Experts speculate that the increase in daily hours spent in front of screens, from 2.5 to 7 hours on average, may have influenced these values. In addition, the decrease in the time children spent outdoors may also have played a role.
The researchers stress, however, that the work does not establish a cause-and-effect relationship between the pandemic and the increase in cases of myopia, also pointing out that the results may not be extended to other areas of the world, where prevention measures have been interpreted differently.
Covid, a life at home behind a screen: children’s sight at risk
by Tina Simoniello
The Jama Ophtalmology study
A study recently published in Jama Ophtalmology, which analyzed 120,000 Chinese children from 10 different schools between the ages of 6 and 16, recorded a 3-fold increase in myopia in 2020 compared to previous years, especially in younger children. An even stronger escalation in children and young people with high myopia, that is the one above 6 diopters, which in 2050 will affect 10% of the population, or one billion people.
Myopia alarm, especially for children. Ophthalmologists: no devices in summer
by Irma D’Aria
The risk of a myopic pandemic
The theme of the increase in myopia during the pandemic had also alarmed the ophthalmologists gathered for the 18th International Congress of the Italian Ophthalmological Society (SOI) held recently in Rome. “To date, 28% of the world population has a defect greater than 0.50 in myopia and by 2050 it is estimated that this problem will affect about 5 billion people, half of the global population”, he declared Matteo Piovella, president of Soi. “This vision disorder is on the rise in Asia where the prevalence among children is 80% and in some countries such as South Korea it reaches 100% due to genetic predisposition”. An increase that also affects Europe: “In Western countries – he adds Luigi Mele, Soi councilor and ophthalmologist at the Luigi Vanvitelli University of Naples – there is a prevalence between 20-30%, but these data refer to a few years ago, while we know that the figures are much higher. This means that in a few years 50% of the world population could be affected by myopia, which means that we could find ourselves experiencing a myopic pandemic ”.
Pauses, lights, distance: how to protect your eyesight during smartworking and online school
Breaks and life in the open air
Summer can be a good time to disconnect children and teenagers from electronic devices. “As a scientific society – adds Piovella – we indicate that every half hour children must stop for a minute and look at infinity to rest their eyes. And then it is essential that they stay outdoors to stimulate the development of vitamin D which is a protective factor for myopia ”.
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