Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Madurai, India.
Department for Economy and Health, University for Continuing Education Krems, Danube University Krems, Krems an der Donau, Austria.
Front Public Health. 2022 Aug 11;10:945082. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.945082. eCollection 2022.
Digital eye strain, which is often ignored by the public, has emerged as a "Shadow Pandemic" in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current paper is aimed at discussing the ill effect of digital screens on eyes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A literature search was done using "PubMed," "Google scholar", and "Scopus" using key terms like "Digital Eye Strain," "Eyestrain," or "Computer Vision Syndrome." Relevant articles were identified and included to support the argument for this narrative review.
Studies conducted in the UK reported that 68% of children extensively use computers, while 54% undertake online activities after the age of 3. Similar studies estimated 4 h and 45 min per day of screen exposure time among adults in the UK. Indian studies reveal that the prevalence of DES is 69% in adults and 50% in children respectively. Indian ophthalmologists found that computer-using and specialized ophthalmologists were more informed of symptoms and diagnostic signs but were misinformed about treatment modalities. The use of social media and multitasking is particularly prominent among younger adults, with 87% of individuals aged 20-29 years reporting the use of two or more digital devices simultaneously. It has been observed that the use of computer glasses corrects refractive errors and helps in the reduction of symptoms, while precision spectral filters help in reducing symptoms of micro-fluctuation of accommodation.
We concluded that DES is emerging globally as a "Shadow Pandemic" and it is high time to respond. Community ophthalmologists, public health authorities, and educational sectors especially should be involved to prevent this.
在 COVID-19 大流行时代，数字眼疲劳这一常被公众忽视的问题已经成为一种“影子大流行”。
本文旨在讨论 COVID-19 大流行后数字屏幕对眼睛的不良影响。
使用“PubMed”、“Google Scholar”和“Scopus”，通过关键词“数字眼疲劳”、“眼疲劳”或“计算机视觉综合征”进行文献检索。确定并纳入相关文章，以支持本叙述性综述的观点。
英国的研究报告称，68%的儿童广泛使用计算机，而 54%的儿童在 3 岁后进行在线活动。类似的研究估计，英国成年人每天有 4 小时 45 分钟的屏幕暴露时间。印度的研究表明，成年人的 DES 患病率分别为 69%，儿童为 50%。印度眼科医生发现，使用计算机的和专门的眼科医生对症状和诊断迹象了解更多，但对治疗方式的了解存在误解。年轻成年人中尤其突出使用社交媒体和多任务处理，87%的 20-29 岁人群报告同时使用两种或两种以上数字设备。观察到使用电脑眼镜可以矫正屈光不正并有助于减轻症状，而精密光谱滤波器有助于减轻调节微波动的症状。
我们的结论是，DES 正在全球范围内成为一种“影子大流行”，现在是采取行动的时候了。社区眼科医生、公共卫生当局和教育部门尤其应该参与其中，以预防这种情况。
