Lanza Michele, Ruggiero Adriano, Ruggiero Matteo, Iodice Clemente Maria, Simonelli Francesca
Multidisciplinary Department of Medical Surgical and Dental Specialties, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 80138 Naples, Italy.
Life (Basel). 2023 Jul 15;13(7):1569. doi: 10.3390/life13071569.
The prevalence of refractive errors has sharply risen over recent decades. Despite the established role of genetics in the onset and progression of such conditions, the environment was also shown to play a pivotal role. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has majorly impacted people's lifestyles and healthy habits, especially among the youth, which might have led to a significant increase in this trend. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the actual prevalence of refractive errors in a large cohort of pediatric patients.
A large cohort of 496 participants was screened through anamnesis, a non-cycloplegic autorefractometry, a corrected and uncorrected visual acuity assessment, and a questionnaire and was retrospectively evaluated.
Overall, refractive errors were present in 25.1% of eyes, of which 14.6% were diagnosed with myopia/myopic astigmatism and 10.5% with hyperopia/hyperopic astigmatism. Among the patients enrolled, 298 (60%) had their eyes checked one year earlier or before and 122 (25%) had never had ophthalmological consultations; a total of 105 (21%) needed glasses and 34 (7%) required a change in their previous prescription. A substantial increase in daily electronic device screen exposure was declared by 426 patients (87.6%).
Pediatric patients appear to have a higher prevalence of refractive errors than before.
近几十年来，屈光不正的患病率急剧上升。尽管遗传学在这些疾病的发生和发展中已确立了作用，但环境也被证明起着关键作用。事实上，新冠疫情对人们的生活方式和健康习惯产生了重大影响，尤其是在年轻人中，这可能导致了这一趋势的显著增加。因此，本研究的目的是调查一大群儿科患者中屈光不正的实际患病率。
通过问诊、非散瞳自动验光、矫正和未矫正视力评估以及问卷调查对496名参与者的大样本队列进行筛查，并进行回顾性评估。
总体而言，25.1%的眼睛存在屈光不正，其中14.6%被诊断为近视/近视散光，10.5%为远视/远视散光。在登记的患者中，298名（60%）在一年前或更早之前检查过眼睛，122名（25%）从未进行过眼科咨询；共有105名（21%）需要眼镜，34名（7%）需要更换之前的处方。426名患者（87.6%）称日常电子设备屏幕暴露大幅增加。
儿科患者的屈光不正患病率似乎比以前更高。
