Kohmarn Thitika, Srisurattanamethakul Noppadol, Watcharapalakorn Akarapon, Poyomtip Teera, Poolsanam Chotika
Faculty of Optometry, Ramkhamhaeng University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Clin Optom (Auckl). 2022 Aug 4;14:125-131. doi: 10.2147/OPTO.S374155. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated specific public health measures, resulting in the alteration of lifestyles, such as increased digital screen time and fewer outdoor activities. Such conditions have increased the progression of myopia in children. However, no investigation of myopia progression in early adulthood has been conducted during this period. Consequently, this study aimed to evaluate the outbreak of COVID-19-related myopia progression among adults at an optometry clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a retrospective cohort study in which participants aged 18-25 years who first visited (baseline) the optometry clinic between June 2019 and March 2020 were recruited for follow-up from November 2021 to March 2022. Spherical equivalent refraction (SER), uncorrected distance visual acuity (UCDVA), and binocular cross cylinder (BCC) were recorded at baseline and a follow-up visit. Using questionnaires, a survey was conducted to assess the lifestyle changes that transpired during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In total, 37 participants with a mean age of 22.5±1.4 years were enrolled, of which 89.2% were female. Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most participants self-reported increased daily use of digital devices (89.2%), online education (86.5%), and spending more time at home (94.6%), which increased by approximately 7.6±3.2 hours, 5.9±1.7 hours, and 13.2±7.5 hours, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between SER and BCC at baseline and after approximately 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic ( < 0.05). The mean two-year myopia progression was -0.59±0.67 D (Maximum = 0.00 D, Minimum = -3.38 D).
This study revealed that myopia could progress during adulthood among those who have lived under public health measures intended to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
新冠疫情使得特定的公共卫生措施成为必要，这导致了生活方式的改变，如数字屏幕使用时间增加和户外活动减少。这些情况加剧了儿童近视的发展。然而，在此期间尚未对成年早期的近视进展情况进行调查。因此，本研究旨在评估新冠疫情期间验光诊所成年患者中与新冠相关的近视进展情况。
这是一项回顾性队列研究，招募了2019年6月至2020年3月首次就诊（基线）于验光诊所的18 - 25岁参与者，在2021年11月至2022年3月进行随访。在基线和随访时记录等效球镜度（SER）、未矫正远视力（UCDVA）和双眼交叉柱镜（BCC）。通过问卷调查评估新冠疫情期间发生的生活方式变化。
共纳入37名平均年龄为22.5±1.4岁的参与者，其中89.2%为女性。新冠疫情爆发后，大多数参与者自我报告数字设备每日使用量增加（89.2%）、接受在线教育（86.5%）以及在家时间增加（94.6%），分别增加了约7.6±3.2小时、5.9±1.7小时和13.2±7.5小时。在新冠疫情爆发约2年后，基线时和之后的SER及BCC存在统计学显著差异（<0.05）。两年的平均近视进展为 -0.59±0.67 D（最大值 = 0.00 D，最小值 = -3.38 D）。
本研究表明，在实施旨在应对新冠疫情的公共卫生措施期间，成年期近视仍可能进展。
