Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 28, 2025
Using an Automated Hirschberg Test App to Evaluate Ocular Alignment
Published on: March 24, 2020
Associations Between Screen Exposure in Early Life and Myopia amongst Chinese Preschoolers
Gui-You Yang1, Li-Hua Huang1, Katrina L Schmid2
1Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Insights
Early life screen exposure is linked to preschool myopia, with longer durations and earlier onset increasing risk. The first year of life may be a critical period for this association. Further research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
Background:
- Myopia is a growing global health concern, particularly in children.
- Understanding early-life risk factors for myopia is crucial for prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between early-life screen exposure and the development of myopia in preschoolers.
- To identify potential sensitive periods for screen exposure related to myopia onset.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 26,433 preschoolers from the Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS).
- Data collected via caregiver questionnaires on demographics, visual status, screen exposure, and parental myopia.
- Cox regression modeling used to analyze associations between screen exposure and myopia.
Main Results:
- Preschool myopia was significantly and positively associated with early-life screen exposure.
- Increased daily duration and total years of screen exposure strengthened this association.
- The association was more pronounced in children with myopic parents, with the first year of life showing the strongest link.
Conclusions:
- Early-life screen exposure may be associated with preschool myopia, with the first postnatal year potentially being a sensitive period.
- The findings suggest a link between screen time and myopia, but causality requires further investigation.
- Longitudinal studies with cycloplegia are recommended to confirm these associations and explore links to the school-aged myopia epidemic.
Abstract:
This study aimed to explore the association between screen exposure in early life and preschool myopia. During the baseline survey of the Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS), data of 29,595 preschoolers were collected via a caregiver-reported questionnaire regarding children's socio-demographic characteristics, visual status, screen exposure and relevant parental information. Data of 26,433 preschoolers with normal eyesight or myopia were included in the analysis and cox regression modelling was employed to assess the associations. Results suggested the hypothesis that screen exposure in early life could be significantly and positively associated with preschool myopia, and in agreement with this hypothesis was the association being strengthened with the increasing daily exposure duration and total years of exposure; in the stratification analysis based on the presence of parental myopia, these associations still existed, and the strength of associations was stronger in preschoolers with myopic parents than those without. Moreover, a statistically significant association was only observed between initial screen exposure that occurred during 0-1-years old and myopia for preschoolers without myopic parents, while the significant associations were observed between initial screen exposure that occurred during 0-1, 1-2, 2-3, and after 3 years old and myopia for preschoolers who had myopic parents, with the strongest association found in the group of children initially exposed to electronic screens during 0-1 year old. Thus our findings indicated the hypothesis that screen exposure in early life might be associated with the occurrence of preschool myopia, and that the postnatal first year might be the sensitive period for the association. However, it is premature to conclude that early screen time leads to myopia with current data. Further longitudinal studies performed with cycloplegia are necessary to verify the hypothesis and shed light on the more urgent question whether early screen exposure contributes to the later myopia epidemic of school-aged children.
