Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry, Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
Private Practice, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico.
Optom Vis Sci. 2023 Sep 1;100(9):638-644. doi: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000002055. Epub 2023 Aug 12.
The progression of myopia increased in children after the pandemic confinement. A myopic shift in the refractive error of the Hispanic population was found regardless of the refractive status of the school-aged children studied.
This study aimed to evaluate the refractive error in Puerto Rican children before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We were interested in whether there was a significant change in refractive error attributed to online learning during the pandemic lockdown.
A retrospective record review of children aged 7 to 18 years who underwent a comprehensive visual evaluation between 2018 and 2021 at the Inter American Eye Institute in Puerto Rico was performed. The spherical equivalent pre- and post-lockdown was compared. The study excluded the best-corrected visual acuities worse than 20/40, any corneal or retinal disease, and amblyopia.
In total, 801 records were included in this study. The mean age was 12.7 ± 3.2 years, with 50.3% male and 49.7% female children. The mean spherical equivalent for the right and left eyes was similar ( r = 0.93, P ≤ .001). A significant difference in the mean spherical equivalent was found pre- and post- lockdown (0.22 ± 0.59 D, t800 = 10.44, P ≤ .001). A myopic shift post-lockdown was significant for all ages except those in the 7- (0.13 ± 0.79 D, t28 = 0.84, P = .40) and 8-year-old range (0.12 ± 0.65 D, t40 = 1.22, P = .23), respectively. No significant change was found between sexes before (0.16 ± 0.12 D; t799 = 1.38, P = .16) and after (0.15 ± 0.13 D; t799 = 1.19, P = .23) confinement.
The current study revealed a significant myopic shift in Hispanic school-aged children as a result of the pandemic confinement.
大流行禁闭后，儿童近视进展增加。无论所研究的学龄儿童的屈光状态如何，都发现西班牙裔人群的屈光误差出现近视转移。
本研究旨在评估波多黎各儿童在 COVID-19 大流行前后的屈光不正。我们有兴趣了解在大流行封锁期间在线学习是否导致屈光不正发生显着变化。
对 2018 年至 2021 年在波多黎各美洲眼研究所接受全面视觉评估的 7 至 18 岁儿童的回顾性病历记录进行了回顾。比较了封锁前后的球镜等效值。该研究排除了最佳矫正视力低于 20/40、任何角膜或视网膜疾病以及弱视的患者。
共有 801 份记录纳入本研究。平均年龄为 12.7 ± 3.2 岁，男性占 50.3%，女性占 49.7%。右眼和左眼的平均球镜等效值相似（r = 0.93，P ≤.001）。在封锁前后发现平均球镜等效值存在显着差异（0.22 ± 0.59 D，t800 = 10.44，P ≤.001）。除 7 岁（0.13 ± 0.79 D，t28 = 0.84，P =.40）和 8 岁（0.12 ± 0.65 D，t40 = 0.12 ± 0.65 D，P =.40））外，所有年龄段的近视后移均有统计学意义。在封锁前后，男女之间未见显着差异（分别为 0.16 ± 0.12 D；t799 = 1.38，P =.16 和 0.15 ± 0.13 D；t799 = 1.19，P =.23）。
本研究表明，由于大流行的禁闭，西班牙裔学龄儿童的近视明显增加。
