Rising incidence of myopia in kids tied to indoor time during pandemicA new study based on data from Hong Kong shows a rising incidence of myopia, or short-sightedness, in children during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly linked to increasing time spent indoors and on screens.
The study was published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.The research was part of the ongoing Hong Kong Children Eye Study (HKCES).
A total of 709 children ages 6 to 8 were recruited in December of 2019 and January of 2020 and monitored for 8 months. Their vision was tested against children previously enrolled in the study.The authors found the 1-year incidence of short-sightedness was 28%, 27%, and 26%, for 6-, 7-, and 8-year-olds in the COVID-19 group, compared