According to the study, children’s eyesight suffered as a result of Covid lockdowns since they spent more time indoors and less time on screens.
By 2050, millions more youngsters will be affected by short-sightedness, or myopia, a major global health risk, the study predicts.
Asia has the highest rates: 73% of children in South Korea and Japan and 85% of youngsters in China and Russia are visually impaired.
With myopia rates of only 1%, Paraguay and Uganda had among of the lowest, while the US, UK, and Ireland had myopia rates of over 15%.
The research examined research involving almost five million children and teenagers from 50 nations on all six continents, and the findings were published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Their calculations showed that between 1990 and 2023, the percentage of people who are short-sighted increased thrice, to 36 percent.
Additionally, the researchers state that the rise was “particularly notable” following the Covid epidemic.
Myopia typically first appears in elementary school and gets worse until the eye stops growing, which happens around age 20.
