A new study from the British Journal of Ophthalmology found one in three children worldwide have developed myopia, or nearsightedness.
The study also found the prevalence of the condition increased sharply in the years 2020 to 2023.
Dr. Shaun MacInnis runs a busy eyecare practice in Sydney, N.S., and a good number of his patients are children.
“With COVID-19 and so much time on screens, (there are) definitely a lot more people coming in with nearsightedness,” MacInnis said.
MacInnis notes the issue is not only screens themselves, but how closely people are holding them.
“Increasing that ‘working distance’, we call it, for kids,” MacInnis said. “So, holding those screens further away - that’s really a big one to try and help reduce that risk of nearsightedness.”
“I was also interested to see that they thought there was a link with reduced exposure to sunlight,” said Dr. Margaret Fraser, an emergency room and family physician in Sydney.
Experts say a lack of outdoor time during the pandemic also wasn’t great for people’s eyesight.
Fraser said being indoors on phones and tablets is also linked to other health issues like childhood obesity.
“Parents, I think, should be trying to limit screen time in general. Not just for the sake of their eyes, but for their overall health,” she said.
Lisa Christian, an optometry and vision science professor at the University of Waterloo, said while some people and cultures are more predisposed to being nearsighted, an increase like the one seen between 2020 and 2023 can’t be explained by genetics alone.
“The fact that (the study) found environment played a factor was interesting,” Christian said. " I think it’s good to know so that we can encourage parents to go outside and take their kids outside to try and prevent the onset, or at least delay the onset."
Dr. MacInnis said nearsightedness can increase the risk of some other eye diseases later in life, including cataracts, glaucoma and retinal detachments.
“We know it’s tied to eye disease, so now we can do different treatments to try and avoid those problems or slow them down,” MacInnis said.
MacInnis and Christian recommend at least two hours of sunlight per day to give children’s eyes a proper amount of natural light exposure.
Christian said that if the current trend continues, by 2050 half the world’s population will be nearsighted.
