Effect of Watching 3-Dimensional Television on Refractive Error in Children

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of watching 3-dimensional (3D) television (TV) on refractive error in children. METHODS Sixty healthy volunteers, aged 6 to 12 years, without any ocular abnormalities other than refractive error were recruited for this study. They watched 3D TV for 50 minutes at a viewing distance of 2.8 meters. The image disparity of the 3D contents was from -1 to 1 degree. Refractive errors were measured both before and immediately after watching TV and were rechecked after a 10-minute rest period. The refractive errors before and after watching TV were compared. The amount of refractive change was also compared between myopes and controls. The refractive error of the participants who showed a myopic shift immediately after watching TV were compared across each time point to assure that the myopic shift persisted after a 10-minute rest. RESULTS The mean age of the participants was 9.23 ± 1.75 years. The baseline manifest refractive error was -1.70 ± 1.79 (-5.50 to +1.25) diopters. The refractive errors immediately after watching and after a 10-minute rest were -1.75 ± 1.85 and -1.69 ± 1.80 diopters, respectively, which were not different from the baseline values. Myopic participants (34 participants), whose spherical equivalent was worse than -0.75 diopters, also did not show any significant refractive change after watching 3D TV. A myopic shift was observed in 31 participants with a mean score of 0.29 ± 0.23 diopters, which resolved after a 10-minute rest. CONCLUSIONS Watching properly made 3D content on a 3D TV for 50 minutes with a 10-minute intermission at more than 2.8 meters of viewing distance did not affect the refractive error of children.