PolyU points to a 50% increase in the rate of astigmatism among schoolchildren due to the pandemic

The new crown pneumonia is raging, and the school has suspended face-to-face classes for many times and has to switch to online classes.

A study by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University found that the proportion of students with astigmatism problems increased from 35.4% in 2018 to 56.6% in 2020, an increase of 50%.

The team also tracked and studied school children and found that in 2018, a total of 34.2% of school children suffered from astigmatism, and two years later, 73.7% had astigmatism, an increase that doubled.

PolyU has also developed "Multi-Zone Forward Optical Defocusing (DIMS)" children's spectacle lenses, which can slow down the progression of myopia by up to 60% under normal circumstances.

Among schoolchildren affected by school suspension for a long time, the optical defocus lens group was also 52% more effective in slowing the progression of myopia.

▼1.11 The government announced that classes will be suspended from 1.14 at the latest▼

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School children spend an extra half an hour to an hour using electronic products after school

For the first time, a research team from the School of Optometry of PolyU conducted a study on the change of astigmatism during online classes. The team compared 8 to 10-year-old students in the same primary school in Hong Kong, including 112 students in 2018 and 173 students in June 2020 , in their visual screening results, the proportion of students found to have astigmatism problems increased from 35.4% to 56.6%.

The researchers also analyzed the results of 38 schoolchildren who participated in the two-year follow-up study and found that 34.2% of the schoolchildren had astigmatism in 2018, and 73.7% had astigmatism two years later.

Leung Tze Wing, Assistant Professor (Research) of PolyU's School of Optometry, pointed out that the team survey also found that during the suspension of face-to-face classes, they spent an average of 30 to 60 minutes a day using electronic devices such as mobile phones or tablets during their spare time.

Optical defocusing lenses slow down myopia progression

In addition, PolyU and TAG Heuer have jointly developed the "Multi-Zone Forward Optical Defocus (DIMS)" children's spectacle lenses.

The team analyzed the visual acuity of 171 Hong Kong school children aged 7 to 13 after school was suspended in 2019 and 2020. Among them, 115 school children wore optical defocusing myopia control lenses during the study period, and the remaining 56 school children wore single vision glasses as a control.

Chen Haolong, an associate professor at the School of Optometry of PolyU, pointed out that the results of the study showed that the myopia degree of the optical defocus lens group increased by an average of 35 degrees, while the myopia degree of the control group increased by an average of 73 degrees, reflecting that the lens can slow down the rate of myopia progression.

Liang Zirong pointed out that it was found that during the suspension of face-to-face teaching, students spent an average of 30 to 60 minutes a day using electronic products such as mobile phones or tablets after school.

(Provided by PolyU)

The team also believes that under the epidemic, Hong Kong schoolchildren have changed their class patterns. They spend more time at home using electronic products or doing close reading, and the time for outdoor activities is greatly reduced, which increases the risk of myopia deepening in disguise.

Remind parents and schoolchildren themselves to protect their vision health in many ways, including paying attention to reading posture and light, increasing time spent outdoors, and reducing the time the eyes spend looking at close objects.

Parents should also take their children for eye examinations to deal with eye problems as soon as possible.

The research of the two PolyU teams was published in the international academic journals Clinical and Experimental Optometry and JAMA Network Open in the middle of this month.

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