COVID-19: Home Quarantine tied to Increase in Myopia among younger kids
Myopia is a major health issue around the world. The World Health Organization estimates that half of the population of the world may be myopic by 2050. In recent years, insufficient time spent on outdoor activities has been recognized as a major risk factor for myopia development.
The present pandemic confinement has worsened it and in a recent study, researchers reported that the prevalence of myopia has increased among school-aged children and is associated with the home confinement. Study revealed that the prevalence of near-sightedness, or myopia, increased 1.4 to 3 times in Chinese children aged 6 to 8 years during COVID-19 quarantine,
The study findings were published in the JAMA Ophthalmology on January 14, 2020.
In December 2019, a novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) rapidly spread in China and around the world. In response many nations implemented a nationwide school closure as an emergency measure to prevent spreading of the infection; online courses were offered and delivered through the internet. Although these efforts have been shown to control the pandemic, concerns have been raised about whether the period of lockdown may have worsened the burden of myopia due to significantly decreased time spent outdoors and increased screen time at home. Therefore, researchers conducted a study to investigate the association of home confinement during the COVID-19 outbreak with myopia development in school-aged children in China.
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