Table 1. The characteristics and results of research articles used in this systematic review.

COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; SE: spherical equivalent; D: diopter; UCVA: uncorrected visual Acuity; N/A: not applicable, h/day: hours/day; WHO: World Health Organization

Author	Study title	Study type	Country of study	Age of the study population	Sample size	Study results
Wang W et al. [12]	Survey on the progression of myopia in children and adolescents in Chongqing during COVID-19	Cross-sectional	China	Students from grades one to six in primary school, grades one to two in junior school, and grades one to two in high school	1,728 in 2019, 1,733 in 2020	The percentage of myopia in 2020 was 10.40% higher than in 2019. The SE in 2020 (−1.94 ± 2.13 D) after the home quarantine was higher than in 2019 (−1.64 ± 5.49 D). Students using computers and mobile phones for digital learning during the pandemic had worse UCVA and SE than children using other digital devices.
Cai T et al. [13]	A complex interplay between COVID-19 lockdown and myopic progression	Cross-sectional	China	N/A	115	Refractive error increased from 0.20 D to 0.45 D during the three-month home quarantine. A 35% faster progression was seen in the monthly axial length growth rate during the pandemic. Myopia progressed by ⅓ times or 33.33%, which can be attributed to increased screen time and decreased outdoor activities during home confinement.
Mohan A et al. [17]	The impact of online classes and home confinement on myopia progression in children during COVID-19 pandemic: digital eye strain among kids(DESK) study 4	Cross-sectional	India	6-18 years	133	Mean SE during the COVID-19 pandemic was -5.12 +/- 2.70 D and -4.54 +/- 2.70 D before the pandemic. History of rapid myopia progression, <1 h/day of sun exposure, and >1 h/day of video games and mobile phones were identified as possible risk factors for myopia progression during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Liu J et al. [1]	Examining risk factors related to digital learning and social isolation: youth visual acuity in COVID-19 pandemic	Cross-sectional	China	Primary, secondary, and university in China	3918	The average digital use during the pandemic was 3.91 h/day (which is more than the WHO recommendation). Myopia symptoms increased with every one-hour increase in digital device use.
Yao Y et al. [18]	Distribution, progression, and associated factors of refractive status of children in Lhasa, Tibet, after COVID-19 quarantine	Cross-sectional	Tibet	7.9 +/- 0.5 years	1819	When compared to pre-COVID times, the proportion of myopia progressed by 7.0% among the children in Tibet.
Xu L et al. [14]	COVID-19 quarantine reveals that behavioral changes affect myopia progression	Cross-sectional	China	7-18 years	1001749	Six-month myopia progression among the study subjects increased around 1.5 times from pre-COVID-19 times. Myopia progression was positively associated with increased screen time and negatively associated with outdoor activity.
Ma M et al. [15]	COVID-19 home quarantine accelerated the progression of myopia in children aged 7 to 12 years in China	Cross-sectional	China	7-12 years	201	The increase in myopia progression during the COVID-19 quarantine was three times higher than the baseline myopia progression. Myopia progression was associated with increased screen use during the home quarantine.
Aslan F et al. [3]	The effect of home education on myopia progression in children during the COVID-19 pandemic	Cross-sectional	Turkey	8-17 years	115	Annual progression analysis revealed a higher myopic progression in 2020 (after the COVID-19 quarantine) than in 2019 and 2018 (before COVID-19).
Ma D et al. [16]	Progression of myopia in a natural cohort of Chinese children during the COVID-19 pandemic	Cohort	China	8-10 years	Study group - 208 Control group-83	The mean myopia progression before the pandemic was -0.3 D which increased to -0.9D during the pandemic.
Zhang X et al. [19]	Myopia incidence and lifestyle changes among school children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based prospective study	Cohort	Hong-Kong	6-8 years	Study group - 709 Control group - 1084	In the pre-COVID-19 cohort, the estimated annual incidence of myopia was 11.63%, which is less than the COVID-19 cohort (29.68% ).