The COVID-19 pandemic may have escalated the prevalence of myopia as young children are confined indoors, report researchers.

Spending more time indoors focused on computer screens seems to have most affected the eyesight of the youngest school children, reported Xuehan Qian, of Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital in Tianjin, China.

Researchers noted time spent indoors and the duration and intensity of near work as potential risk factors for myopia. The quality of light under these conditions seems to affect the way the eye develops, especially in children, stated Jeffrey Cooper, professor emeritus at the State University of New York, College of Optometry in New York City.

The findings from the research were presented at the virtual Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2021 annual meeting, and have been published in JAMA Ophthalmology… (Medscape)