Children have more dry eye symptoms now than before COVID-19 pandemic
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BOSTON — Symptoms of ocular surface disease in children were higher than previously seen and could be linked to increased screen time during the pandemic, according to a study presented in a poster at the American Academy of Optometry annual meeting.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased electronic screen time for schoolwork and leisure in children,” Lindsay A. Sicks, OD, FAAO, associate professor at the Illinois College of Optometry, told Healio.
Seeking to evaluate whether meibomian gland atrophy and dry eye symptoms correlate with increased screen time, Sicks and colleagues recruited 40 children, 5 to 15 years old, between September and November 2020. They conducted comprehensive eye exams; collected tear film parameters, including noninvasive tear film break-up time and tear meniscus height, using the Oculus Keratograph 5M; and everted the children’s upper and lower eyelids to image the meibomian glands.
Investigators surveyed the children and their parents about the children’s electronic screen time and administered an Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), which was modified with children-friendly questions.
Of the 40 children recruited, 16 were boys and 24 were girls, with a mean age of 10.3 years. Investigators reported normal OSDI scores of less than 13 in 50% of the children. Other scores were mild (17.5%), moderate (12.5%) and severe (20%). The average score was 20.98, with a maximum of 70.68.
Sicks and colleagues also found that the degree of meibomian gland atrophy, as evidenced by meibography, was statistically correlated to the modified OSDI scores in the left eye, but not the right eye.
Although the study revealed that OSDI findings in children were more elevated than in previous research, investigators recommended further studies to confirm these results.
“Maybe we should be doing meibography in kids,” Sicks said. “We don’t know what will happen to them as adults. Also, we don’t have scales or questionnaires for kids.
“We have seen 160 kids now and are looking at the data,” she continued. “A lot of the kids are myopes. What happens when we put them in contact lenses?”
Considering that 20% of the children scored as severe on the OSDI questionnaire, Sicks reiterated the importance of conducting these types of evaluations in pediatric patients. “If we don’t ask, we’ll never know.”
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