Objective and Subjective Behavioral Measures in Myopic and Non-Myopic Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Transl Vis Sci Technol
; 10(11): 4, 2021 09 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1411011
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic required a shift to electronic devices for education and entertainment, with children more confined to home, which may affect eye growth and myopia. Our goal was to assess behaviors during COVID-19 in myopic and non-myopic children.Methods:
Parents completed a questionnaire for their children (ages 8.3 ± 2.4 years, n = 53) regarding visual activity in summer 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during school time and the summer before COVID-19. Children also wore an Actiwatch for 10 days in summer 2020 for objective measures of light exposure, activity, and sleep. Data were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance.Results:
Subjective measures showed that during COVID-19, children exhibited increased electronic device use and decreased activity and time outdoors (P < 0.05 for all), while time spent doing near work was not different than during a typical school or summer session before COVID-19 (P > 0.05). Objective measures during COVID-19 showed that myopic children exhibited lower daily light exposure (P = 0.04) and less activity (P = 0.04) than non-myopic children.Conclusions:
Children demonstrated increased electronic device use and decreased activity and time outdoors during COVID-19, with myopic children exhibiting lower light exposure and activity than non-myopes. Long-term follow-up is needed to understand if these behavioral changes ultimately contribute to myopia progression. Translational Relevance Children's behaviors changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have implications in eye growth and myopia.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Myopia
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Child
/
Child, preschool
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Transl Vis Sci Technol
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Tvst.10.11.4
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