why more and more children are affected since the Covid-19 pandemic

A study published in September in the British Journal of Medicine highlights a continued rise in myopia diagnoses among young people. A trend that worsened during and since the health crisis.

Are children becoming more and more myopic? An investigation allows us to see things more clearly. Chinese researchers studied the prevalence of this vision disorder among young people using global data collected between 1990 and 2023. The result, published in the scientific journal British Journal of Medicine, shows a slow upward curve over 30 years in the age group of 5-19 years.

“Myopia in childhood is significant and affects approximately one third of children and adolescents (…) the global incidence of myopia is expected to exceed 740 million cases by 2050,” the researchers write in this meta-analysis.

According to Thierry Bour, liberal ophthalmologist and president of the National Union of Ophthalmologists of France in France, one in five children today suffers from myopia, and 510,000 children aged 6 to 15 have progressive myopia, he explained in November 2023 Le Monde.

A consequence of Covid-19?

In the long list of symptoms of Covid-19, there are no vision problems. However, the health crisis has had an effect on myopia, according to the authors of this study.

“New evidence suggests a potential link between the pandemic and accelerated visual deterioration in young adults,” they explain to the BBC.

But what is the connection between the health crisis and an increase in diagnoses? “It is quite easy to explain if we consider that confinement has led to a change in our behavior: a reduction of time outside and also an increase in time spent on screens,” explains BFMTV Matthieu Robert, pediatric ophthalmologist at the Necker hospital ( AP-HP).

Expert advice: How to avoid the development of myopia in children and young people in general? – 19/09

Thus, the lack of time outdoors and time spent in “near vision” seems to be to blame. Another aggravating factor (the link to which is more or less clear depending on the studies) is screen time, which has continued to increase. Laptops, computers, televisions… This is a problem with “nearsightedness” over long durations.

Finally, there is still the genetic factor responsible for one in ten cases of myopia. A child of one or two myopic parents is more likely to be myopic as well. If in doubt, take the test.

Tom Kerkour with Pierre Barbin and Camille Fournier

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