Digital Interference with Vision and Eye Development (the DIVE cohort): a multiethnic cohort of Swedish children to characterize eye and vision development

Research problem and specific questionsThe rapid integration of digital devices into everyday life, particularly among children, raises concerns about potential impacts on eye health.

We aim to investigate the interplay between screen time exposure, educational pressure, and eye development in children. Our reserach addresses the problem of the lack of knowledge about how our modern lifestyle impact eye development.

Based on our preliminary results we will test a new hypothesis that low educational pressure during early childhood, 5-7-years of age, exerts a protective effect on normal eye development among children.

We speculated that the delayed start of formal schooling with more time outdoors and play is key to beating disruption caused by digital technology.Data and methodWe will establish a cohort of healthy children employing a prospective cohort design in conjunction with several nested case-control studies.

The eye and vision development of the participants will be examined at the start, and we aim for follow-up of 15-years.

The cohort´s eye and vision development will be examined through detailed assessments, including vision acuity measurements, refractive error evaluations, ocular imaging, and questionnaires.

Societal relevance and utilizationCurrently, no professional body or laboratory has enough evidence to provide good guidance to parents or authorities about the effect of screen time on eye development.

There are highly speculative measures, for instance, about screen time, that lack solid scientific evidence giving a false sense of security or false alarm.

Our long-term goal is to provide to the society a comprehensive base of knowledge about eye development when exposed to the current disrupting factors associated with the use of digital devices.Plan for project realisationThe project plan spans five milestones over three years: collaboration establishment, logistics refinement, participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis/results dissemination Through meticulous planning and interdisciplinary collaboration, this study aims to shed light on the intricate connection between modern lifestyles and pediatric eye health.