Home confinement and distance learning significantly increased the number of hospital visits for myopia at a university hospital in Istanbul, although no correlation was found with myopia progression.

The increasing prevalence of myopia is a major public health issue worldwide. Global estimates suggest a burden of 5 billion people affected by 2050. Home confinement and implementation of long-lasting remote learning techniques due to the pandemic have increased digital screen time while substantially decreasing time spent outdoors.

“In Turkey, in-person education was suspended in all schools on the 22nd of March 2020. Additionally, home quarantine became mandatory for all citizens under the age of 20 after April 3,” Sebnem Egriboyun, MD, said at the virtual European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons winter meeting. “These facts led us to the research question: Could the lockdown measures for the COVID-19 pandemic have aggravated the rate of clinical admission or progression of myopia in school-aged children in Turkey?”

The data of patients aged between 7 and 18 years examined between Jan. 1, 2014, and May 1, 2021, were analyzed. Visits were divided into before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the percentage of myopia diagnosis in each subgroup was determined. In addition, myopia prescriptions in both eyes were documented, and differences in subsequent visits were used to evaluate progression.

“Our results showed a significant increase in hospital admission rates for myopia during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to admission rates in the period before the pandemic. A similar statistically significant difference could not be determined for the rate of progression,” Egriboyun said.

This study, she said, highlights the importance of preventive measures to avoid the increase of myopia cases due to distance learning methods. These may include limiting digital screen time, advocating for increased outdoor activities and implementing frequent nationwide myopia screening programs for school-aged children.

“We acknowledge that several other factors such as decreased outdoor sunlight exposure during this period might have been relevant, and the respective role of each of these factors should be further investigated,” she said.