Health
COVID lockdowns led to spike in kids’ vision problems, 1 in 3 now nearsighted, study finds
As many as 30% of children and teens across the world were nearsighted in 2023, a new study has revealed.
Diagnoses of nearsightedness (myopia) are expected to worsen over the next two decades, according to the findings, which were published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
By 2050, nearly 740 million young individuals worldwide are expected to have the condition, lead study author Dr. Yajun Chen, a professor at Sun Yat-sen University in China, told Fox News Digital.
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“The study also highlights significant disparities in myopia rates across different regions, suggesting that factors such as gender, ethnicity and culture play a crucial role,” he said.
“Understanding these variations is crucial for tailoring prevention and intervention strategies to specific at-risk populations.”
As many as 30% of children and teens across the world were nearsighted in 2023, a new study has revealed. (iStock)
In the study, researchers analyzed 276 studies that included more than 5.4 million participants from 50 countries across all six continents.
Rates of nearsightedness were highest in East Asia (35.22%), in urban areas (28.55%), among females (33.57%), among adolescents (47%) and among high school students (45.71%), the study found.
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Myopia can progress rapidly during critical growth periods, particularly in children and adolescents, Chen noted.
There was a significant spike in myopia after the COVID-19 pandemic, research has shown.
By 2050, nearly 740 million young individuals worldwide are expected to have myopia, the researchers found. (iStock)
“During the pandemic, many countries implemented nationwide lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus,” he said.
“Prolonged indoor living reduced outdoor activity for children and adolescents while increasing screen time, potentially exacerbating the ocular burden on this population and worsening the myopia crisis.”
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Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, was not involved in the study but commented on the findings.
“Diet may play a role, but I think the greatest reason for the increase, especially coming out of the pandemic, is due to lockdowns and being indoors more,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Untreated myopia can lead to more severe vision problems later in life.”
With increased screen time, kids and teens have fewer opportunities for the eye muscles to have to adapt, Siegel said.
“For example, going back and forth from looking close to looking far, and accommodating to light by going from indoors to outdoors, and talking to people in person — all of those exercise the small eye muscles that keep you from getting nearsighted,” he added.
Warnings of long-term effects
Dr. Jesse Willingham, an optometrist at Brighter Outlook Vision in North Charleston, South Carolina, warned that unaddressed vision problems can have several significant consequences for children, including academic problems, social and emotional struggles, behavioral issues and long-term eye health issues.
I think the greatest reason for the increase, especially coming out of the pandemic, is due to lockdowns and being indoors more,” one medical expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“We all understand that being able to see clearly is important for school, but there are many different visual skills we need for learning,” Willingham, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital.
“Nearsightedness is the most common developmental vision problem, but early vision problems can start with tracking difficulties, poor ability to adapt the focus of the eyes or use the two eyes as a team, or other functional problems that arise from too much stress on the visual system at an early age,” he added.
Study limitations
The study did have some limitations, Chen acknowledged.
“The major limitation of the included studies is the disparity in the designs and methods utilized,” he said.
Parents should ensure that their children receive regular eye examinations starting at a young age, the researcher recommended. (iStock)
“The quality of included epidemiologic studies varied significantly within and among the reviews, ranging from high to low risk of bias.”
There is also a possibility of “uneven distribution of data” among countries within any given continent, Chen said.
“As a result, our reported findings might be biased because they were mainly influenced by data from a limited number of countries.”
Studies included in the analysis also varied in terms of criteria and procedures for assessing nearsightedness, Chen noted.
Bringing solutions into view
Creating a supportive environment at home and in schools can encourage children to adopt healthy habits that protect their vision, the researchers said.
Unaddressed vision problems can have several significant health consequences for children, a doctor cautioned. (iStock)
Experts offered the following interventions to help reduce the prevalence of myopia among youth.
1. Promote outdoor activities
Families should prioritize outdoor playtime, Chen recommended.
“Schools can organize outdoor activities and encourage sports, creating a culture that values physical engagement and natural light exposure,” he said.
2. Manage screen time
For very young children who haven’t started school yet, Willingham recommends only allowing screen time when video-chatting with friends and family.
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“For school-aged children, matching screen time one-to-one with outdoor time and limiting screen sessions to no more than 20 minutes at a time are good rules of thumb,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Also make sure screen time is done ergonomically, with screens held at least 12 inches away and done while maintaining good posture.”
3. Schedule regular eye exams
Parents should ensure that their children receive regular eye examinations starting at a young age, Chen recommended.
With increased screen time, kids and teens have fewer opportunities for the eye muscles to have to adapt, a doctor noted. (Getty Images)
“Early detection and intervention is crucial, as untreated myopia can lead to more severe vision problems later in life,” he said.
“It’s also beneficial to stay informed about new treatments and technologies aimed at slowing myopia progression, such as specialized contact lenses and eye drops.”
It’s important to choose an eye care provider who understands visual development, according to Willingham.
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“Developmental optometrists have more training and experience in this area, and are typically affiliated with OVDRA, the Optometric Vision Development and Rehabilitation Association,” he said.
“If your child is at high risk of developing nearsightedness or is already nearsighted, consider finding a myopia management specialist through organizations like TreeHouse Eyes.”
4. Participate in community initiatives
Engaging with community programs aimed at preventing myopia, such as vision screening events or educational outreach, can help reduce the prevalence, according to Chen.
“Prolonged indoor living reduced outdoor activity for children and adolescents while increasing screen time, potentially exacerbating the ocular burden on this population and worsening the myopia crisis,” one eye doctor said. (iStock)
Integrating vision education into school curricula and supporting public health campaigns focused on myopia prevention can also be effective, he added.
“By taking these proactive steps, everyone can contribute to reducing the prevalence of myopia and promoting healthier vision for children and adolescents,” Chen said.
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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