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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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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