Myopia Progression Among School-Aged Children in the COVID-19 Distance-Learning Era

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of online learning and other environmental factors on myopia progression during the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). METHODS: A retrospective cohort study from 2018 to 2021. Data from children aged 6–14 were gathered during three visits: pre-pandemic, at the beginning, and during the pandemic. Demographics (hours spent on screens for educational, recreational purposes, outdoors, and type of screen), best-corrected distance visual acuity (BCDVA), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCDVA), and cycloplegic refraction were gathered. RESULTS: Of 150 patients, 70 [47%] were boys. The mean age was 11 (2.4) years. Participants mainly used mobile phones (62%) and had insufficient outdoor play (88%). Of the 300 eyes, 221 (74%) showed myopia progression. A significant difference in spherical equivalent (SE) was found between pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods (−0.29 (0.23) D vs −0.40 (0.11) D; p =0.023). Additionally, UCDVA showed a difference between the initial and 1st follow-up visits (0.57 (0.37) vs 0.64 (0.36), p =0.001), and the first and 2nd follow-up visits (0.64 (0.36) vs 0.70 (0.36), p =0.001). Significant hazard ratio for change in SE in patients with higher age (>9 years), (HR [95% confidence interval (CI)], 0.71 [0.51–0.84]), greater recreational screen usage (HR [95% CI], 1.26 [1.15–1.66]), and insufficient outdoor time (HR [95% CI], 1.45 [1.35–1.67]). CONCLUSION: Myopia progression was accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Younger age, prolonged screen use, and insufficient outdoor time contributed to increased myopia progression. However, the type of device used had no significant effect.