Keep Your Eyes Peeled: Rising levels of worldwide child myopia
A recent British Journal of Ophthalmology study has revealed a startling increase in the prevalence rates of myopia in children across the globe.
Worldwide rates have increased year on year, from 24.32% in 1990 to 35.81% post-pandemic – an increase of almost 50% in the past 30 years1. Although much of the development of child myopia is attributed to genetic factors, many studies suggest that there are environmental causes, too. 2, 3
How COVID has affected child myopia
Much of the recent increase has been attributed to the 2020 COVID pandemic, and the resulting lockdowns – which meant many children had to complete their schoolwork online, and were not allowed to go outside.
Regular outside time may be an important ameliorating factor for child myopia. Screen breaks can help to counteract prolonged exposure to “near-work”, and regular outside time encourages the eyes to relax, which some studies suggest can reduce myopia prevalence.4
Over the course of the pandemic, children across the world saw exponential increases in screen-time, coupled with reductions in their outside time.
Is tech to blame for child myopia?
In short, the evidence is suggesting that increasing reliance on technology does have a part to play in the increasing rates of child myopia.
It’s worth noting that the child myopia prevalence rates are significantly worse in more economically (and technologically) developed countries. For example, some South American Nations – such as Paraguay and Uruguay – reported rates of only 1%; in countries such as Japan or South Korea, which have markedly higher screen-time rates, this prevalence was as high as 85%!5
These figures are only estimated to worsen with increasing reliance on digital devices for studying, working and playing. Predictions for eye health in the future look bleak: the WHO suggests that, by 2050, more than half of the world will be myopic!
What can we do to combat growing child myopia?
A holistic approach to eye health is required to effectively target child myopia. This approach should acknowledge the contributing environmental factors (such as increased screen time), whilst ensuring that those with issues are being seen in a timely manner.
For school nursing teams, this could mean delivering more public health messages around the impact that screen-time can have on eyesight, and emphasising how regular breaks and outside time can impact child myopia.
It also highlights the importance of screening programmes – many issues, if left untreated, can worsen over time. So, catching cases of child myopia early is crucial to ensuring that timely treatment is delivered.
How SchoolScreener® Vision targets child myopia
SchoolScreener® Vision lets Community Nursing teams deliver free public health messages directly to parents via our ParentPortal (all the while saving on printing & distribution costs!). So, you can keep parents in your community informed about the latest advice on reducing the risk of child myopia.
And, our screening software streamlines the screening process, meaning it’s easier to see more children in the same amount of time – whilst reducing the risk of error by automating much of the screening itself!
Are you looking to combat the child myopia epidemic? Get in touch today to find out how SchoolScreener® can help. Sign an SLA before the end of October 2024 to lock in current pricing, before the G-Cloud 14 price update!
References
1 https://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2024/08/14/bjo-2024-325427
2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11186094/
3 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2774808
4 https://www.specsavers.co.uk/eye-health/screen-time-for-kids?
5 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0m099zm4wyo
6 https://myopiainstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Myopia_report_020517.pdf
