Background Remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic caused behavioural changes such as increased screen time and decreased outdoor time. This study aimed to investigate myopia progression in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a retrospective observational study performed among 2064 patients ages 2–17 with cycloplegic refractions in the months of January 2019–March 2021 at a tertiary children’s hospital. Exclusion criteria were a medical history of relevant connective tissue diseases, myopia control treatment, pseudophakia and aphakia. Results The overall cohort (n=2064) had a mean spherical equivalent (SE) of 0.12±3.70 D in 2019, −0.07±3.95 D in 2020 and −0.49±3.85 D in 2021. The change in mean SE (0.42 D) from 2020 to 2021 was 2.2 times greater than the change (0.19 D) from 2019 to 2020 at baseline. In the cohort of return patients, there was a significant difference in myopic shift between years (F-ratio=14.4, p<0.00001), and a significant change from 2020 to 2021 (p=0.00008) but not from 2019 to 2020. When observing the prevalence of myopia grouped by age, 8-year-old and 17-year-old patients had the greatest increase compared with baseline. When grouped by refractive error, low myopia children (−0.5 D to −3.00 D) displayed the greatest change in mean SE 2020–2021. Conclusions There was a substantial increase in myopia progression for children in the Chicagoland area after the period of COVID-19 changes. The behavioural changes of home confinement and online learning during the pandemic may explain these findings. The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Data are available on reasonable request.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间芝加哥地区儿童的屈光变化：一项回顾性观察性研究


背景 COVID-19 大流行期间的远程学习导致了行为变化，例如屏幕时间增加和户外时间减少。本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 大流行期间儿童的近视进展。方法 这是一项回顾性观察研究，于 2019 年 1 月至 2021 年 3 月在一家三级儿童医院对 2064 名 2-17 岁的睫状肌麻痹屈光患者进行。排除标准是相关结缔组织病的病史、近视控制治疗、假晶状体和无晶状体。结果 整个队列 （n=2064） 的平均球当量 （SE） 在 2019 年为 0.12±3.70 D，在 2020 年为 -0.07±3.95 D，在 2021 年为 -0.49±3.85 D。2020 年至 2021 年的平均 SE 变化 （0.42 D） 是基线时 2019 年至 2020 年变化 （0.19 D） 的 2.2 倍。在回归患者队列中，年间近视变化存在显著差异 （F 比 = 14.4，p<0.00001），2020 年至 2021 年有显著变化 （p=0.00008），但 2019 年至 2020 年没有。当观察按年龄分组的近视患病率时，与基线相比，8 岁和 17 岁患者的患病率增加最大。按屈光不正分组时，低度近视儿童 （-0.5 D 至 -3.00 D） 在 2020-2021 年的平均 SE 中表现出最大的变化。结论 在 COVID-19 变化期之后，芝加哥地区儿童的近视进展显着增加。大流行期间居家隔离和在线学习的行为变化可能解释了这些发现。当前研究期间使用和/或分析的数据集可应合理要求从通讯作者处获得。数据可应合理要求提供。