Effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s visual health: a systematic review

Cortés-Albornoz, María Camila; Ramírez-Guerrero, Sofía; Rojas-Carabali, William; de-la-Torre, Alejandra; Talero-Gutiérrez, Claudia

doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-062388

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 55 publications

(191 reference statements)

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“…A systematic review of 21 articles on the effects of e-learning during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown identified the development or exacerbation of visual problems in children, such as visual fatigue, vergence, and accommodation disturbances, associated with the increased dependence on digital devices [30]. Furthermore, a recent systematic review and meta-analysis of 45 randomized controlled trials with 4497 participants found no high-certainty evidence of reduction in visual fatigue scores or symptoms after treatment of computer vision syndrome [31].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in accommodation with visual fatigue among digital device users

Sigamani¹,

Majumder²,

Sukumaran³

2022

Med Hypothesis Discov Innov Optom

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Background: Visual fatigue is categorized as a complex phenomenon that decreases visual performance. The aim of the present study was to assess changes in accommodation at different levels of visual fatigue among students of a Malaysian private university using digital devices. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, students regardless of sex and ethnicity were included. A comprehensive eye examination was performed. After estimating the level of visual fatigue, the amplitude of accommodation (AA), accommodation facility (AF), and monocular estimation method (MEM) were measured. The visual fatigue questionnaire was filled out by the participants. Participants were categorized based on the visual fatigue scores into low, moderate, and high visual fatigue groups. Moderate and severe visual fatigue groups were combined, as the distribution of participants was uneven across the groups. Accommodation parameters were measured for each group and compared between the two groups, i.e., the low visual fatigue group and the combined moderate to severe visual fatigue group. Results: We enrolled a total of 86 students, including 29 (33.72%) men and 57 (66.28%) women, with a mean (standard deviation [SD]) age of 22.02 (1.51) years and age ranging from 19 to 26 years. By ethnicity, there were 69 (80.23%) Chinese, five (5.81%) Indian, four (4.65%) Malay, and eight (9.30%) participants from other ethnicities. Most participants were in the low visual fatigue group (54.65%), followed by the severe (25.58%) and moderate (19.77%) visual fatigue groups. AA for both eyes and AF for the right eye differed significantly between the two groups (both P < 0.05). None of the accommodative parameters correlated with visual fatigue (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Binocular AA and monocular AF significantly differed between the visual fatigue groups, but MEM was comparable. However, none of the accommodative parameters correlated with visual fatigue. These perceived vision dysfunctions could affect the visual skills of students. Therefore, future studies on the relationship between the observed dysfunctions and students’ reading performance are necessary.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in accommodation with visual fatigue among digital device users

Sigamani¹,

Majumder²,

Sukumaran³

2022

Med Hypothesis Discov Innov Optom

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“…The pandemic additionally impacted students’ physical health as a result of increased screen time, less physical activity, as well as unhealthy behaviors and sleep problems linked to psychological distress (Cortés-Albornoz et al, 2022; Valenzuela et al, 2022). Specifically, Cortés-Albornoz and colleagues (2022) documented that most studies in their review (19 of 21 studies) found visual health in school students to worsen during the COVID-19 pandemic, while Valenzuela and colleagues (2022) found undergraduate students to have experienced sleep problems and, interestingly, also increased sleep duration. Regarding the latter point, the authors noted that increased sleep duration may not necessarily be beneficial, as it can negatively impact time spent on school work, social relationships, and mental health.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Did COVID-19 Affect Education and What Can Be Learned Moving Forward?

Daumiller

Rinas

Schoon

et al. 2023

Zeitschrift für Psychologie

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The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted the educational sector on a global front. A plethora of research has been conducted to better understand the effects that the pandemic had on education as a whole, including investigations into different topics (e.g., school closures, e-teaching and learning, mental and physical health), populations (e.g., students, teachers), and levels of education (e.g., school, higher education). To summarize the available literature on education during the pandemic both qualitatively and quantitatively, many systematic reviews and meta-analyses have begun to emerge. With the present systematic meta-review, we aimed to synthesize and combine this existing database to derive broader and more comprehensive insights that can aid educational stakeholders. We summarize and evaluate 43 systematic reviews, four meta-analyses, and eight combined systematic reviews and meta-analyses published until November 2022 to provide a comprehensive narrative of how this crisis affected education and what can be learned moving forward.

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“…In 2020, school closures and remote learning affected an estimated 1.37 billion students [34]. Multiple systematic reviews and metaanalyses, albeit of predominantly Asian studies, have reported a rapid increase and/or progression in myopia among school-aged children since the pandemic onset, largely due to the increased use of digital devices during remote learning and decreased outdoor activity [35][36][37][38]. Studies have similarly reported a 1.5fold increase in astigmatism among children following school closures [39,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Refractive errors and vision impairment in students attending public primary schools: analysis in a large-scale children population in Mexico

Ramírez‐Ortiz

Amato-Almanza

Romero-Bautista³

et al. 2023

Preprint

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A cross-sectional, retrospective study was conducted from October 2013 through July 2014 to determine the prevalence of refractive errors among students attending public primary schools in Mexico. Among 3,861,156 students at 14,566 public primary schools in all 32 states of Mexico, teachers identified possible refractive errors in 1,253,589 (32.5%) using visual acuity measurement. Optometrists confirmed 391,498 [31.2%, mean (SD) age: 8.8 (1.9) years; 204,110 girls (52.9%)] had refractive errors using visual acuity measurement and noncycloplegic static retinoscopy. Among 288,537 (72.4%) of children with previous eyeglasses usage data reported, 241,505 (83.7%) had uncorrected refractive errors. Before prescription eyeglasses were provided, 281,891 students (72%) had logMAR visual acuity 0.2 or worse; eyeglasses corrected vision loss in 85.6% (n = 241,352) of them. Simple myopic astigmatism was the most frequent refractive error (25.7%, n = 100,545). Astigmatism >-1.00 diopters was present in 54.6% of all students with ametropia. The anisometropia rate based on SE difference between right and left eye ≥ 1.50 diopters was 3.9% (n = 15,402). Uncorrected refractive errors are an important issue in primary school students in Mexico. An updated study is needed to analyze the evolving trends over the past decade.

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Effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children’s visual health: a systematic review

Cited by 17 publications

References 55 publications

Changes in accommodation with visual fatigue among digital device users

Changes in accommodation with visual fatigue among digital device users

How Did COVID-19 Affect Education and What Can Be Learned Moving Forward?

Refractive errors and vision impairment in students attending public primary schools: analysis in a large-scale children population in Mexico

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