The Effect of Age and Sex on Ocular Parameters Associated With Smartphone Use Among Students in Malawi: a Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Globally, the usage of digital screens is on the rise. Students are among the most users of smartphones in pursuit of academic endeavors. However, digital screens can increase the incidence of various ocular problems. Aim The aim of the study was to examine changes associated with accommodation parameters following the usage of smartphone use among university students. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Mzuzu University. We recruited 77 undergraduate students using a stratified random sampling technique. Then, we measured AF and AA before and after using a smartphone for 30 minutes while reading N8 optotypes held at 40 cm. We measured AA using the pushup method and recorded the result in diopters and AF using flippers and recorded cycles per second. We entered the data in SPSS version 25. Paired t-test was used to investigate pre and post-smartphone use measurements. We ran a person correlation test to analyze the relationship between age and change in parameters. A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the association with gender. We considered the value of p < 0.05 statistically significant. Results The change between pre and post-smartphone use was statistically significant across all parameters. According to age, all the parameters increased significantly with an increase in age. However, there was no significant association with gender across all parameters. Conclusion Smartphone usage has an effect on the amplitude of accommodation and accommodative changes. The effect of smartphones on accommodation parameters increases with increasing age. Nevertheless, there are no gender-related differences in accommodative changes following smartphone use. Therefore, elderly users of digital devices in universities should visit eye care practitioners for a full eye examination to enable a better experience with digital devices.