Abstract
Purpose :
To determine myopia prevalence and electronic screen time of special
educational needs (SEN) children, aged 6-8 years, during the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic.
Methods :
Between July 1st and August 31st 2022, 46 SEN children and 53 controls, aged 6-8, were actively recruited into our cross-sectional study. Patients underwent best corrected visual acuity assessment (BCVA), subjective refraction and axial length assessment (IOL Master 700, Zeiss Group). Parental educational level, children’s outdoor time and electronic screen use were collected by validated questionnaires.
Results :
In SEN children, aged 6-8 years, 39.1% had myopia on presentation. Among myopic subjects, 33.3% had spherical error of less than -1.0D, 22.2% was between -1.0D and -1.9D, 11.1% was between -2.0D and -2.9D, 22.2% was between -3.0D and -3.9D, and 0.06% was -4.0D or more. Mean axial length was 23.7 (±1.16) mm. Comparatively, controls had a myopia prevalence of 30.1%. For SEN children, 43.5% reported to be using electronic screens regularly before the age of 4 compared to 37.8% in controls. 58.7% of SEN children used electronic screens for 2 or more hours a day and 65.2% used them at least 5 days a week. Comparatively, 49.1% of controls used electronic screens for 2 or more hours a day and 58.4% used them at least 5 days a week. Parental education level and socioeconomic status were similar between groups.
Conclusions :
Myopia prevalence and severity were significantly higher in SEN children than controls. This was associated with earlier and longer exposure to electronic screens in SEN children.
This abstract was presented at the 2023 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in New Orleans, LA, April 23-27, 2023.