Systematic Review of Sleep Duration and Development of Myopia.

There is a knowledge gap in the relationship between sleep duration and myopia. Since sleep duration is a modifiable risk factor, its association with the development and progression of myopia has implications for public health. This review was conducted in accordance with the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The bibliographic databases of PubMed and Scopus were searched for published studies on the association between sleep duration and myopia. These databases were searched in December 2023 with no date or study design limits. The relevant literature was extracted and met the priori determined population (children, adolescents, and adults suffering from myopia with or without corrective glasses), intervention/exposure (sleep), and the outcome (various indicators of sleep especially sleep duration/bedtime/wake time and sleep quality). Data were gathered by gender, age, and refraction technique and standardized to the definition of myopia as refractive error ≥0.50 diopter. The relevant literature was extracted from these electronic databases using the keywords "sleep," "sleep duration," "bedtime," and "myopia." English language articles related to the topic were included. Articles that have discussed the role of risk factors for myopia but did not mention any relation to sleep were excluded. Sixteen studies were included after reviewing the relevant literature, and only six studies have shown a significant relationship between shorter duration of sleep and the development of myopia. This review suggests that apart from other environmental factors, sleep duration may have a role in developing myopia. Thus, increasing awareness about optimum sleep duration has a potential utility to reduce the development and progression of myopia.

Understanding parental hurdles in accessing strabismus treatment.

Purpose: To explore the parental factors that impede early intervention for strabismus and thus identify strategies for improving access to specialized care. Methods: This hospital-based cross-sectional study included 110 parents of children under 19 years with strabismus receiving treatment at the squint clinic of a tertiary health care center in north India. A pre-validated survey questionnaire was administered to the participants, that had a section about the socio-demographics of the participants, another section addressed the parental knowledge about strabismus about diagnosis, and the need for an eye examination. It also sought information about referral source, the felt need for squint examination, and reasons for not seeking treatment. Results: A total of 110 parents/guardians of strabismus patients (59 exotropes and 51 esotropes) were interviewed using a survey questionnaire. Parents themselves identified 80% of cases, and a substantial link (P â€‹< â€‹0.0001) was found between the education status of parents and the age of identification of strabismus. Fear of surgical outcomes (41.79%) was a significant barrier to timely surgery with a higher percentage of parents expressing fear of surgical outcomes (P â€‹= â€‹0.025). The cost of surgery (34.33%) and the non-availability of facilities (23.88%) also delayed the intervention. Conclusions: It is essential to educate parents about the importance of strabismus therapy at an appropriate time, stressing its reconstructive rather than merely cosmetic nature, as there are notable gaps in their knowledge. Also, we need to do away with the fear of surgical outcomes of surgical interventions for strabismus.

Factors Determining Improvement in Stereopsis and Binocularity After Good Postoperative Alignment in Patients With Childhood-Onset Strabismus.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of the present study was to determine the factors that affect the outcome of strabismus surgery in terms of improvement in stereopsis and binocularity. METHODS: Data were collected prospectively from patients with childhood-onset, concomitant, constant strabismus greater than 30 prism diopters (PD) with postoperative alignment within 10 PD. Pre- and postoperative stereopsis and binocularity testing were performed using the Titmus fly test, random dot test, Bagolini striated glass test, and Worth four dot test at one, four, and 12 weeks postoperatively. RESULTS: A total of 73 patients (55% males and 45% females) who underwent surgery at our center were studied. The mean age at the time of surgery was 16 ± 7.7 years (range: 5-35 years). We found that factors such as age of strabismus onset, type of deviation, and amblyopia had a statistically significant influence on the postoperative surgical outcome. A statistically insignificant relationship was noted with gender, refractive error, and duration of strabismus. Patients who had strabismus after six months of age noticed a significant improvement in stereopsis (p-value = 0.000) than those who had strabismus before six months of age (p-value = 0.660). Further, there was a statistically significant improvement in patients having exotropia (p-value = 0.018) or combined horizontal and vertical deviations (p-value = 0.000), but there was no significant improvement in patients with esotropia (p-value = 0.180). Moreover, non-amblyopes had a significantly better postoperative stereopsis than amblyopes (p-value = 0.006). Although there was no association between preoperative deviation and improvement in stereopsis (p-value = 0.081), patients having preoperative deviation in the range of 31-45 PD had a statistically significant improvement in stereopsis (p-value = 0.000). There was no significant difference between postoperative residual deviation and final stereopsis (p-value > 0.05). All the results were the same for both the Titmus test and the random dot test. Binocular fusion was observed in 34 subjects, and uniocular suppression was noted in 38 subjects preoperatively. It was observed that only one patient gained binocular single vision postoperatively. CONCLUSION: The presence of amblyopia, esotropia, early onset of strabismus (within six months of age), and a larger preoperative deviation (>45 PD) were associated with poorer stereopsis. In patients with horizontal strabismus, the coexistence of vertical deviation had a positive impact on the postoperative stereopsis. Gender, refractive error, and duration of strabismus did not influence the final stereopsis in our study.

SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with increased odds of insomnia, RLS and dream enactment behavior.

Background: Literature suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in poor sleep quality, especially among the infected population. However, literature regarding the effect of COVID-19 pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 infection on occurrence of insomnia, restless legs syndrome and dream enactment behavior is either scarce or unavailable. Methods: This study was planned to assess the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the occurrence of insomnia, restless legs syndrome (RLS) and dream enactment behavior (DEB). For this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire comprising of items related to demographic details, past medical history, and information related to SARS-CoV-2 infection was distributed through social media. Insomnia was diagnosed using clinical criteria. RLS, DEB, sleep quality, depression and anxiety were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Information regarding the use of hypnotic medications was also gathered. Results: Of the 1596 respondents, 37.2% reported disturbed sleep while insomnia was reported by 22.6% respondents. 27.3% of respondents reported RLS and 17.4% suffered DEB. The odds of insomnia were greater among males (OR = 1.27; 95% CI: 1.03-1.58; P < 0.02) and among those who had SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.42-2.19; P < 0.001). Similarly, SARS-CoV-2 infection was also associated with increased odds of RLS (OR = 2.48; 95% CI = 1.98-3.11; P < 0.001) and DEB (OR = 1.58; 95%CI = 1.21-2.06; P < 0.001). Insomnia, RLS and DEB were more frequent among respondents who required oxygen therapy, those who experienced loss of taste and/or smell, depression and anxiety. Prevalence of insomnia, DEB and RLS was higher than said prevalence among respondents with no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but lower than that of those with positive history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. 5.3% of respondents reported taking hypnotic medications before infection, 7% during infection and 5.3% after infection. Conclusion: SARS-CoV-2-infection-related factors in association with environmental factors have increased the prevalence of insomnia, DEB and RLS among subjects having infection. SARS-CoV-2-associated immunological changes, hypoxia and neurotropism may play a role in occurrence of insomnia, DEB and RLS.