FP615

The prevalence of myopia among school children due to excessive use of screen time on digital device

Purpose : To study the prevalence of myopia among school children due to excessive use of screen time on digital device
Methods: This is a community based study on 550 school children aged  between 6-16years.A brief history of hours of screen time followed by visual acuity testing,retinoscopic examination,best corrected visual acuity,anterior segment examination and fundus examination was done.The prevalence of refractive errors and progression were analyzed statistically
Results: The mean age was 13 ± 2.45. 36% of the children were spending >3 hours of screen time.  There was 29.6% prevalence of myopia children in 12-16 Years age group , followed by 18.05% in 10-13 years.
Conclusion:There is an  increased prevalence of myopia among children exposed to excessive screen time.Our results warn eye care professionals and also policy makers ,educators and parents that collective efforts are needed to prevent childhood myopia.