Increase in severity and prevalence of astigmatism among children following pandemic

Hong Kong researchers have reported a significant uplift in the severity and prevalence of astigmatism among children following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Writing in JAMA Ophthalmology, researchers highlighted that while there is evidence that the pandemic created a “surge” in myopia progression, the association between the pandemic and astigmatism remained unknown.

In order to address this question, the scientists examined data relating to 21,655 children between the ages of six and eight who underwent ocular examinations between 2015 and 2023.

They found that the prevalence of refractive astigmatism of at least 1 dioptre in 2015 was 21.4% while the prevalence of corneal astigmatism of at least 1 dioptre was 59.8%.

This increased to 34.7% and 64.7% respectively in 2022–2023.

The authors highlighted that the potential effect of higher levels of astigmatism may warrant an exploration of the relationship between environmental and lifestyle factors as well as the patho-physiology of astigmatism.

“The pandemic was associated with increased risks and magnitudes of child astigmatism, regardless of sociodemographic background, parental astigmatism, or presence of myopia,” the scientists shared.

They added that corneal changes, especially along the steepest meridian, may explain some of the progression of corneal astigmatism among children.