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Progression of Myopia in School-Aged Children After COVID-19 Home Confinement
- Source :
- JAMA Ophthalmology
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- American Medical Association (AMA), 2021.
-
Abstract
- Importance Time spent in outdoor activities has decreased owing to home confinement for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Concerns have been raised about whether home confinement may have worsened the burden of myopia owing to substantially decreased time spent outdoors and increased screen time at home. Objective To investigate the refractive changes and prevalence of myopia in school-aged children during the COVID-19 home confinement. Design, Setting, and Participants A prospective cross-sectional study using school-based photoscreenings in 123 535 children aged 6 to 13 years from 10 elementary schools in Feicheng, China, was conducted. The study was performed during 6 consecutive years (2015-2020). Data were analyzed in July 2020. Exposures Noncycloplegic photorefraction was examined using a photoscreener device. Main Outcomes and Measures The spherical equivalent refraction was recorded for each child and the prevalence of myopia for each age group during each year was calculated. The mean spherical equivalent refraction and prevalence of myopia were compared between 2020 (after home confinement) and the previous 5 years for each age group. Results Of the 123 535 children included in the study, 64 335 (52.1%) were boys. A total of 194 904 test results (389 808 eyes) were included in the analysis. A substantial myopic shift (approximately −0.3 diopters [D]) was found in the 2020 school-based photoscreenings compared with previous years (2015-2019) for younger children aged 6 (−0.32 D), 7 (−0.28 D), and 8 (−0.29 D) years. The prevalence of myopia in the 2020 photoscreenings was higher than the highest prevalence of myopia within 2015-2019 for children aged 6 (21.5% vs 5.7%), 7 (26.2% vs 16.2%), and 8 (37.2% vs 27.7%) years. The differences in spherical equivalent refraction and the prevalence of myopia between 2020 and previous years were minimal in children aged 9 to 13 years. Conclusions and Relevance Home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared to be associated with a significant myopic shift for children aged 6 to 8 years according to 2020 school-based photoscreenings. However, numerous limitations warrant caution in the interpretation of these associations, including use of noncycloplegic refractions and lack of orthokeratology history or ocular biometry data. Younger children’s refractive status may be more sensitive to environmental changes than older ages, given the younger children are in a critical period for the development of myopia.
- Subjects :
- Male
China
Time Factors
Adolescent
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
Cross-sectional study
medicine.medical_treatment
Eye
Refraction, Ocular
Risk Assessment
01 natural sciences
Education, Distance
Screen Time
03 medical and health sciences
Screen time
Child Development
0302 clinical medicine
Risk Factors
Myopia
Prevalence
Humans
Medicine
Prospective Studies
0101 mathematics
Child
Prospective cohort study
Dioptre
School age child
business.industry
010102 general mathematics
Age Factors
Orthokeratology
COVID-19
Adolescent Development
Child development
Ophthalmology
Cross-Sectional Studies
030221 ophthalmology & optometry
Female
business
Demography
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 21686165
- Volume :
- 139
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- JAMA Ophthalmology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....2313c71960014d91256676881f1a4a36