SynthesisBMJ open2022
Effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children's visual health: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMJ open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pathways and pitfalls: a qualitative study of student experiences in biomedical science education.FEBS open bio · 2026Article
- Comparison of ocular residual astigmatism between children with clinically significant and non-significant astigmatism.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Key strategies to reduce the global burden of myopia: consensus from the international myopia summit.The British journal of ophthalmology · 2025Review
- AMXRA Guidelines on Extended Reality (XR) and Children: Considerations for Safe and Effective Application Development and Use.Journal of medical extended reality · 2025Article
- Screen Time Soars and Vision Suffers: How School Closures During the Pandemic Affected Children and Adolescents' Eyesight.Journal of prevention (2022) · 2025Article
- Botulinum toxin-A in acute acquired comitant esotropia during COVID pandemic in children and young adolescents.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Effects of Physical Activity and Inactivity on Microvasculature in Children: The Hong Kong Children Eye Study.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2024Article
- Compensatory Interactions between Corneal and Internal Astigmatism despite Lifestyle Changes.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- A large-scale analysis of refractive errors in students attending public primary schools in Mexico.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Subjective behavioral measures in myopic and pre-myopic children before and after the COVID lockdown.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Computer vision syndrome among students during remote learning periods: harnessing digital solutions for clear vision.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesIncreased exposure to digital devices as part of online classes increases susceptibility to visual impairments, particularly among school students taught using e-learning strategies. This study aimed to identify the impact of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on children's visual health.
designSystematic review using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. DATA SOURCES: Scopus, PubMed and ScienceDirect databases from the year 2020 onwards. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: We included cross-sectional, case-control, cohort studies, case series and case reports, published in English, Spanish or French, that approached the effects of remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown on visual health in neurotypical children. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We included a total of 21 articles with previous quality assessments using the Joanna Briggs checklist. Risk of bias assessment was applied using the National Institutes of Health quality assessment tool for before-and-after studies with no control group; the tool developed by Hoy
resultsAll but one study reported a deleterious impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on visual health in children. Overall, the most frequently identified ocular effects were refractive errors, accommodation disturbances and visual symptoms such as dry eye and asthenopia.
conclusionsIncreased dependence on digital devices for online classes has either induced or exacerbated visual disturbances, such as rapid progression of myopia, dry eye and visual fatigue symptoms, and vergence and accommodation disturbances, in children who engaged in remote learning during the COVID-19 lockdown. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022307107.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.