The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Results of a new study published in the peer-reviewed medical journal of ophthalmology show a strong link between screen time and the risk of developing myopia commonly known as shortsightedness or nearsightedness.
The study found that spending more than one hour a day on screens started to increase the chances of myopia significantly with the risk of this complication of the eye where sufferers can see nearby objects clearly but struggle to see things far away going even higher when screen time exceeded four hours per day.
The researchers led by Ahnul Ha, an ophthalmologist based at Seoul National University, analyzed 45 studies covering over 335,000 people where they evaluated the dose-response association of time spent on digital screens with the risk of short-sightedness.
According to the findings, for every extra hour spent on screens daily, the risk of developing short-sightedness increased by 21% and this was seen across all age groups, from toddlers to adults even though young children aged between two and seven years showed a particularly strong association.
The risk of myopia was higher when people used a combination of screens including phones, tablets, computers, TVs rather than just one type of device.
According to Ahnul, this study suggests that reducing screen time alone may not be enough to prevent myopia. Instead, balancing screen use with outdoor activities might be a better approach. For children, the researchers say limiting screen time to around one hour per day could be a safe threshold as more than four hours per day significantly raises the risk of developing myopia.
According to the World Health Organisation, myopia prevalence is on the rise with 2.6billion people globally living with the condition in 2020, with projections suggesting that by 2050, nearly one-half of the world’s population will have it. The projected surge in myopia cases according to experts is likely fueled by environmental factors prevalent in urbanized societies, with major contributors being increased near-vision activities and reduced outdoor time.
However, while the research provides strong evidence of a link between screen time and myopia, it doesn’t prove that screens directly cause myopia. Other factors, like genetics and time spent indoors, may also contribute.
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