Purpose
Although studies have suggested that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak increased myopia progression, they had different settings and analysis methods. This study compared myopia progression before and during the COVID‐19 outbreak using meta‐analysis.
Methods
Relevant literature was searched on EMBASE, PubMed, ClinEpiDB and Web of Science and reviewed until 8 October 2021. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the quality of the original studies. The mean difference of change in spherical equivalent refraction (SER) was used for evaluation before and during the COVID‐19 pandemic.
Results
The meta‐analysis included eight studies with 773, 797 individuals aged 5–18 years. Pooled analysis indicated that the mean difference of annual myopia progression during the pandemic was 0.41 D higher (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.35–0.48,
p
< 0.01) than before the pandemic. Subgroup analysis using cycloplegic (mean difference, 0.30 D; 95% CI, 0.22–0.38;
p
< 0.01) or noncycloplegic refraction (mean difference, 0.60 D; 95% CI, 0.27–0.93;
p
< 0.01) indicated that the mean difference of annual myopia progression during COVID‐19 significantly increased in both refractive measurements.
Conclusion
Our findings demonstrated that the COVID‐19 pandemic accelerated myopic progression compared to the past. Government policies are urgently required to prevent and control myopia progression.
Purpose
COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in digital screen time, which seemed to increase the prevalence of dry eye symptoms among the population with abnormally high digital screen usage hours. However, there are no reports of dry eye symptoms in school children with high digital usage hours. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the prevalence of dry eye symptoms and evaluate the associated factors among school children aged 12 to 18 years during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Methods
Multistage cluster sampling was applied, and six sections of online questionnaires were distributed to selected respondents in November 2021. The odds ratio (OR) with confidence intervals (CIs) for the factors was calculated using binary logistic regression. All statistical significance was determined at p < 0.05.
Results
The findings revealed that 62.5% of 603 students showed symptoms of dry eye (DEQ-5 score ≥ 6). Significant associated factors included being female (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.54; 95% CIs 1.05–2.25), higher-grade student (aOR 1.77; 95% CIs 1.23–2.57), digital screen time use (6 to < 12 hours: aOR 2.00; 95% CIs 1.12–3.57, ≥12 hours: aOR 2.54; 95% CIs 1.39–4.76), and perceived stress (aOR 1.12; 95% CIs 1.08–1.16). The Thai-Perceived Stress Scale-10 scores were positively correlated with the scores on the 5-item dry eye questionnaire (Spearman’s r = 0.38, p-value < 0.01).
Conclusion
A high prevalence of dry eye symptoms might be common among school children during the COVID-19 outbreak. Significant risk factors include being female, being a higher-grade level student, prolonged use of digital screens, and perceived stress. However, contact lens use, smoking, and the most common digital device usage patterns were not found to be contributing factors.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.