The Effect of Near-work Activity Time to The Incidence of Myopia in Children

Myopia has been a global problem leading to visual impairment and blinding complications with associated factors including time spent outdoor and near-work activity time. Excessive near-work activities are inevitable in children nowadays. However, the association between near-work activity time and myopia are still inconsistent between studies. The aim of this study is to review whether excessive near-work activities is associated with myopia incidence. A literature search on six different database (Pubmed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Clinical Key, Google Scholar, and EBSCOhost). Articles matched with inclusion criteria were appraised using Therapeutic Study Critical Appraisal Tool by CEEBM, University of Oxford. Three cohort trials were obtained from the literature search. Incidence of myopia and the hazard ratio (HR) in Ku et al, Tsai et al, and You et al are 27.7%, HR 1.31 (95% CI 1.03-1.68) for ≥2 hours/day cram school attendance; 25.2% HR 1.12 (95%CI 1.02-1.22) for ≥5 hours/week after-school program; 16% HR 1.05 (0.96-1.16) for ≥2.95 ± 1.72 hours/day near work time, respectively. The protective factor pointed out by the studies was outdoor time. Tsai et al showed HR 0.90 (95%CI 0.82-0.99, p