More time for the screen makes it short

The eye specialist Ahnul HA (Jeju University Clinic/South Korea) and its co-authors published the results of their analysis of 45 corresponding scientific studies with 335,524 topics online in Jama Network Open from the American Medical Center (AMA) a few days ago.

Almost half of the affected world population
“The prevalence of myopia (frequency of myopia in the population; note) is increasing. Predictions assume that almost half of the world’s population will be hit by 2050. This increase is associated with an earlier start, faster progression and a higher level of serious stressed when stabilized as a result, he also indicates that of the world. myopia -related diseases that threaten visibility, such as macular degeneration, retinal detachment and glaucoma, ”wrote the experts.

Always earlier and more often
The main causes of myopia are apparently in modern lifestyle and environmental factors: more and more time is spent with activities in the visual nearby area, less and less time outdoors. Children are mainly affected where myopia apparently appears worldwide earlier and more often. The team of authors of the scientific analysis: “Because children transfer to smart devices and spend more time for digital screens earlier and earlier, there is an urgent need to better understand the connection between digital screen time and myopia.”

The experts for eye specialists therefore analyzed the data of 45 scientific studies, which were published in respected specialized magazines with Peer Review by November 25 last year. They used 45 publications that investigated the connection between the use of digital screen devices (eg smartphones, tablets, game consoles, computers or television) and myopia -related consequences (eg myopia and the speed of their progress). The middle age of the 335,524 test subjects from the studies was 9.3 years. Illness usually occurs in childhood.

Double the risk on four hours of “screen time”
The most important result: with an extra hour before a screen, the risk of becoming a short -attempting point by 21 percent. Although an hour of “screen time” barely showed an effect per day, the myopia frequency increased to 97 percent to 97 percent for a maximum of four hours before the screen of the different devices. Only then was the dose-effect relationship flattened. Another hour more for a screen also led to a 54 percent faster development of myopia.

The screen time for toddlers has the most powerful. “A subgroup analysis was performed after the age of the participants in the study, a statistically significant connection in all age groups was observed (…),” the scientists wrote. In the age group of two to seven -year -olds, the myopia increased frequency by one hour more for the screening electronic devices by 42 percent to grow by twelve percent and 16 percent in old age.

The more screens, the worse
In particular, the occurrence of myopia is apparently the use of various electronic devices. “According to the subgroup analysis, which was organized or screen devices were evaluated separately or in combination, the chance of myopia was considerably higher if the devices were analyzed in combination (Risk increase of 28 percent; Remark.) Then when analyzing individual devices (…), “the experts said.

It is remarkable that the connection to a screen time for up to one hour a day remained insignificant, which could indicate a potential security threshold, the scientists believe. The future hardly promises any improvement: only the worldwide distribution of smartphones increased from 21.6 percent of 21.6 percent in 2014 to 69 percent in 2023. “Many two -year -olds spend a maximum of two hours with such devices per day,” says the work published in Jama Network Open from the American Medical Center.