Covid lockdowns may have triggered a rise in short-sighted children

Covid lockdowns may have triggered a rise in short-sighted children
Covid lockdowns may have triggered a rise in short-sighted children
Covid lockdowns may have triggered a rise in short-sighted children because they've spent less time outdoors and more on computers and watching TV, study claims During Covid lockdowns, children spent less time outdoors and more time inside This may have prompted rise in cases of short-sightedness (myopia), experts say Researchers studied the eyes of 1,793 children in Hong Kong Their ability to see was measured and they filled in questionnaires on lifestyle

View
comments

A rise in the number of short-sighted children may be linked to increased screen time during the pandemic, a study suggests.

During lockdown, children in general spent less time outdoors and more time inside watching TV or on a computer.

And this may have prompted a rise in cases of short-sightedness, or myopia, according to research.

Scientists studied the eyes of 1,793 children in Hong Kong. Around 700 of the children were recruited to the study at the start of the pandemic, while the rest had already been monitored for around three years.

Their ability to see was measured and they filled in questionnaires on their lifestyle, including how much time they spent outdoors and looking at screens.

During lockdown, children in general spent less time outdoors and more time inside watching TV or on a computer. And this may have prompted a rise in cases of short-sightedness, or myopia, according to research

During lockdown, children in general spent less time outdoors and more time inside watching TV or on a computer. And this may have prompted a rise in cases of short-sightedness, or myopia, according to research

Around one in five children in the Covid group developed short-sightedness between January and August 2020, compared with one in three of those in the pre-Covid group over much longer period of three years.

The estimated one-year frequency of short-sightedness was 28 per cent, 27 per cent and 26 per cent respectively for six, seven and eight-year-olds in the Covid group.

This compared with 17 per cent, 16 per cent and 15 per cent respectively for six, seven and eight-year-olds in the pre-Covid group.

These changes coincided with a reduction in the time the children spent outdoors, from around an hour and 15 minutes to around 24 minutes per day, and an increase in screen time from around 2.5 hours to around 7 hours per day.

Lead author Dr Jason Yam said: ‘Our initial results show an alarming myopia progression that warrants appropriate remedial action.

‘They serve to warn eye care

read more from dailymail.....

NEXT Health service initiative offers patients a chance to see a GP on the same day ... trends now