AUTHOR=Wang Lixiang , Wei Xin , Deng Yingping 

TITLE=Computer Vision Syndrome During SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in University Students: A Comparison Between Online Courses and Classroom Lectures

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.696036

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2021.696036

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Purpose:</bold> To compare the prevalence of computer vision syndrome in university students of different teaching modes during the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak period.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A cross-sectional survey study using the validated Computer Vision Syndrome Questionnaire in Chinese medical students of Sichuan University who took classroom lectures and the same-grade foreign students from a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) program who took online lectures with similar schedules.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 137 responses from 63 Chinese students and 74 MBBS students were obtained. The highest frequency of digital screen time was 7-9 h (43.24%, 32/74) for MBBS students and 2-4 h (46.03%, 29/63) for Chinese students. The prevalence of computer vision syndrome among Chinese students and MBBS students were 50.79% and 74.32%, respectively (<italic>P</italic> = 0.004). The average numbers of reported symptoms were 5.00 ± 2.17 in Chinese students and 5.91 ± 1.90 in MBBS students (<italic>P</italic> = 0.01). The three most highly reported symptoms were “heavy eyelids” (53.97%), “dryness” (50.79%), and “feeling of a foreign body” (46.03%) in Chinese students and “dryness” (72.97%), “feeling of a foreign body” (62.16%), and “heavy eyelids” (58.11%) in MBBS students. The sum grades of computer vision syndrome had a moderate positive correlation with screen time (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.386, <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001). The grades of symptoms of “feeling of a foreign body,” “heavy eyelids,” and “dryness” showed a weak positive correlation with screen time (Spearman's correlation coefficients were 0.220, 0.205, and 0.230, respectively).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> Online study may contribute to the prevalence of computer vision syndrome among university students.</p>