Influence of Covid Pandemic on the Prevalence of Myopia in Urban School Going Children - Experiences of a Survey Study

Abstract

Background Myopia is a common refractive error among children. Various studies have linked excessive near work and less outdoor exposure with increasing incidence of myopia among children. With the onset of Covid pandemic in 2020 education switched to online mode exposing children to digital media at an unprecedented scale. With strict lockdown measures in place outdoor activities became almost nil exposing all children to these known risk factors of myopia.Aim To investigate the prevalence of myopia among school children and compare it with pre-pandemic prevalence to assess influence of excessive screen exposure and less outdoor time among the urban school going childrenMethod This survey was carried out to assess the effect of increased screen time and less outdoor exposure on the eye health in children aged between 5 to 16 years using a validated questionnaire. After obtaining clearance from Institutional Ethics Committee informed consent from parents and assent from participants was taken. Information was collected and then compared with the previous studies to assess the change in myopia prevalence post-pandemic. Myopia Risk Factor Questionnaire containing five domains namely near work family history socioeconomic status outdoor activities and diet with a total of 55 questions was used to collect the information. The collected data was entered in Microsoft Excel 2007 and statistically analyzed.Results This study found the prevalence of myopia in Urban Bangalore school children as 22.79 which is higher than the previously reported prevalence of myopia in urban school going children indicating that Covid pandemic-related lifestyle changes might have impacted the eye health of children.Conclusion This study showed an increase in the myopia incidence in urban school going children after Covid pandemic. It was also found that childrens increased use of electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablets affected myopia progression during the pandemic.