Re: COVID-19, sweat, tears… and myopia?

Complex Interplay Between COVID-19 Lockdown and Myopic Progression

Purpose

To compare the myopic progression before and during strict home confinement when coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak and explore the potential influencing factors.

Methods

A cross-sectional study. One hundred and fifteen myopic children (115 right eyes) who replace their frame-glasses from December 2019 to January 2020 and with complete refractive records in our hospital since myopia were involved in the study. At the beginning of the strict home confinement and after a 3-month strict home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, they were invited to our hospital to examine the axial length and refractive errors. And visual functions, convergence insufficiency symptom survey (CISS) scale and questionnaires were also performed. Besides, the axial length and refractive errors before the COVID-19 were got from outpatient case files. The effect of strict home confinement on myopia was assessed by comparing monthly axial elongation before COVID-19 and during strict home confinement. Spearman correlation analysis was performed to explore the correlation between potential influencing factors and myopia progression.

Results

Axial length's monthly elongation during strict home confinement was 35% higher than normal periods (0.046 vs. 0.033 mm/month, P = 0.003). The proportion of severe asthenopia doubled (P = 0.020). For myopia progression, heredity, close indoor work time and electronic products were risk factors. Besides, the protective factors were age, rest time after continuous eye usage, sleep time and distance from eye to computer screen.

Conclusions

During COVID-19, the decline in outdoor activities and increase of exposure time to digital screens accelerated the progression of myopia by 1/3.

Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the movement behaviors of children and youth: A scoping review of evidence after the first year

PURPOSE

The objective of this scoping review was to summarize systematically the available literature investigating the relationships between the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and movement behaviors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) of school-aged children (aged 5-11 years) and youth (aged 12-17 years) in the first year of the COVID-19 outbreak.

METHODS

Searches for published literature were conducted across 6 databases on 2 separate search dates (November 25, 2020, and January 27, 2021). Results were screened and extracted by 2 reviewers (DCP and KR) independently, using Covidence. Basic numeric analysis and content analysis were undertaken to present thematically the findings of included studies according to the associated impact on each movement behavior.

RESULTS

A total of 1486 records were extracted from database searches; of those, 150 met inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. Of 150 articles, 110 were empirical studies examining physical activity (n = 77), sedentary behavior/screen time (n = 58), and sleep (n = 55). Results consistently reported declines in physical-activity time, increases in screen time and total sedentary behavior, shifts to later bed and wake times, and increases in sleep duration. The reported impacts on movement behaviors were greater for youth than for children.

CONCLUSION

The COVID-19 pandemic is related to changes in the quantity and nature of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep among children and youth. There is an urgent need for policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to develop solutions for attenuating adverse changes in physical activity and screen time among children and youth.