[01] Vinesha Peiris, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [02] Pavitra S Mahendran, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [03] Mohamed Atheeb Faiz, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [04] Ramaswammi Rajasekharan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia. [05] Kevin Ameresekera, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) is the eye and vision related problems due to prolonged use of computer devices. The burden of computer vision syndrome among computer users is a rising concern in this modern era, furthermore during the pandemic of Covid-19 where most learning is carried out virtually and therefore prolonged usage of computer devices among students in comparison to pre Covid-19 period. The cross-sectional study carried out was to determine the prevalence of CVS among undergraduate students in Melaka Manipal Medical College during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study also investigated the association of CVS with gender, screen time, screen brightness and pre-existing eye conditions. This study was conducted from June 2020 to July 2020 for a duration of 6 weeks. An online google form questionnaire was made consisting of 23 questions about demographic profile and habits on digital screen usage of the participants. 133 participants took part in our study. The collected data was processed with Microsoft Excel 2013 while Chi square statistical test was done using Epi Info software (version 7.2.4). The prevalence of CVS symptoms among the undergraduate students of Melaka Manipal Medical College was recorded to be 90.98% while a high percentage of 68.42% participants felt that their CVS symptoms either began or worsened after starting the online classes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The most common symptoms of CVS experienced by the participants were pain in the neck, back or shoulders (64%), followed by fatigue (56%) and headache (47%). Females were significantly more likely to have symptoms of CVS compared to males. Furthermore, the students who spent >4 additional hours per day on digital devices during the Covid-19 pandemic were significantly more likely to have symptoms of CVS compared to the students who spent <2 additional hours per day.

Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), Covid-19, Undergraduate Medical Students

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