Abstract
Online schooling and prolonged screen time can cause eye strain, dry eyes, watery eyes, itching, and headaches in college students. This study investigates how spending more time on screens during online classes affects the eye health of university students in South Africa. The study involved 349 university students attending online classes during the COVID lockdown. Data were collected via questionnaires, and univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate association strengths. The prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome among students was 68%, a higher prevalence of CVS was found among female students (63%) compared to male students (37%). Results fro m the adjusted model showed that female students were more likely to report CVS than male students (OR = 1.70, 95% CI: 1.07-2.67, p=0.023). Students within the age group 26-35 were less likely to report CVS as compared to students within the age group 18-25 (OR = 0.40, 95% CI: 0.22-0.72, p =0.002). Postgraduate students were less likely to report CVS than undergraduate students (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.25-0.67, P <0.001). Students with more than one gadget were more likely to report having CVS, 2 gadgets (OR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.32-5.62, p=0.007) and >2 gadgets (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 0.99-6.14, P= 0.005). Students with family history of eye-defect were more likely to report eye defect (OR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.53-4.38. P<0.001). CVS has a high prevalence amongst university students. Frequent pauses during screen use using customized apps or the 20-20-20 rule (to focus on 20 feet every 20 minutes for 20 seconds) should be performed by students while using their gadgets.