Parallelism between hypovitaminosis D3 and recently detected myopia in children with amplified screen use in the COVID-19 era-A preliminary study.

PURPOSE: This introductory study aims to analyze the association of serum vitamin D3 levels with recently detected myopia in Indian children following home confinement post-COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Children aged 5-15 years who had not attended physical school in the past 1 year and visited the ophthalmology department with various ocular symptoms were divided into two groups: the myopic group with recently detected myopia and the non-myopic group with ocular ailments other than myopia. All children underwent basic ophthalmic evaluation and a general physical examination. Blood samples were collected for serum vitamin D3 levels. A pretested questionnaire inquiring about the duration of exposure to a digital screen, outdoor activities, and socioeconomic status was filled out for all children.

RESULTS

The mean serum vitamin D3 level in the myopic group was 28.17 ± 15.02 ng/dl in comparison to 45.36 ± 17.56 ng/dl in the non-myopic group (P value < 0.05). Linear regression of the data establishes that myopia is associated with hypovitaminosis D3 (OR- 13.12, 95% CI 2.90-50.32, a P value of 0.001). The correlation between spherical equivalent and vitamin D3 levels was significant (Pearson correlation value: 0.661). In the myopic group, 63.3% of children had screen use >6 hours against 43.3% of children in the non-myopic group. In the myopic group, 33.3% of the children had an outdoor activity duration of <2 hours against 6.6% of children in the non-myopic group.

CONCLUSION

This study proposes hypovitaminosis D3 as a strong factor associated with the development of myopia in children. Although it is a preliminary study, it suggests that the trial for vitamin D3 supplementation in young children to delay or cease the development of myopia is warranted.