High Myopia Prevalence In Special Educational Needs Children And Its Link With Earlier And Longer Exposure To Electronic Screens During The Covid-19 Pandemic
Published 2023 - 41st Congress of the ESCRS
Reference: PO0926 | Type: Free paper | DOI: 10.82333/gf5k-xr80
Authors: Tiffany Hong-Kiu Chen* 1 , Riko Kung 2 , Vienne Leung 2 , Jordy Lau 2 , Kendrick Co Shih 2
1The University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong,Hong Kong, 2Department of Ophthalmology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine,The University of Hong Kong,Hong Kong,Hong Kong
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.
Setting
SEN children and controls, aged 6-8, were recruited through the Aberdeen Kai Fong Association (or AKA) between July 1st and August 31st 2022 at the Univeresity of Hong Kong Eye (HKU) centre and the Aberdeen Kai Fong Association Jockey Club Social service centre, Hong Kong. Dr. Kendrick Shih reviewed all our patients. A subsidy up to 800 HKD was provided by the sponsors for spectacles prescription. This study protocol was approved by the HKU Institutional Review Board in May 2022.
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% between -1.0D and -1.9D, 11.1% between -2.0D and -2.9D, 22.2% between -3.0D and -3.9D, and 0.06% -4.0D or more. Mean axial length was 23.7 (±1.16) mm. Among controls, myopia prevalence was 30.1%. For SEN children, 43.5% reported have regular electronic screen use before age 4 compared to 37.8% in controls. 58.7% SEN children used electronic screens for 2 or more hours a day and 65.2% used them at least 5 days a week. 49.1% 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.