1. Introduction
myopia, impairment of eye–hand coordination, coronavirus disease 2019
MYOPIA, CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019, EYE
(1) Background: The impairment of eye–hand coordination and smooth-pursuit eye movement caused by visual display terminal (VDT) operation is thought to impair daily living activities, for which no effective methods are currently known. On the other hand, various food ingredients, including astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin, are known to help improve the eye health of VDT operators. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that the combination of astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin can prevent the impairment of eye–hand coordination and smooth-pursuit eye movement caused by VDT operation. (2) Methods: We conducted a randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical trial. Healthy subjects who regularly worked with VDTs were randomly assigned to the active and placebo groups. All of the subjects took soft capsules containing 6 mg of astaxanthin, 10 mg of lutein, and 2 mg of zeaxanthin or placebo soft capsules once daily for eight weeks. We evaluated the eye–hand coordination, smooth-pursuit eye movements, and macular pigment optical density (MPOD) at 0, two, four, and eight weeks after soft-capsule intake. (3) Results: The active group showed significantly improved eye–hand coordination after VDT operation at eight weeks. However, there was no clear improvement in the effect of the supplementation on smooth-pursuit eye movements. The active group also showed a significant increase in MPOD levels. (4) Conclusions: Consumption of a supplement containing astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin mitigates the decline of eye–hand coordination after VDT operation.In recent years, the use of visual display terminals (VDTs), including computers, smartphones, tablet devices, and video game consoles, has become a widespread and essential part of the modern lifestyle. In particular, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the period of social isolation, people were forced to work from home and communicate using these devices. VDTs have made our lives more convenient and efficient; however, VDT operation leads to a decline in various visual functions. Prolonged VDT operations cause transient myopia due to the requirement for sustained effort for accommodation [Eye–hand coordination is the ability of our vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands [Conversely, disruption to eye-–hand coordination and smooth-pursuit eye movement due to aging [Some studies have shown that various food ingredients, such as astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin, prevent visual function decline induced by VDT [Lutein and zeaxanthin are fat-soluble antioxidants belonging to the xanthophyll class. They are abundant in eggs and dark green leafy vegetables, such as kale and spinach [As mentioned above, astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin are known to have many health benefits. Therefore, we hypothesized that dietary supplementation with astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin has substantial potential for preventing eye–hand coordination and smooth-pursuit eye movements impairment induced by VDT. In this randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study, we investigated the effects of astaxanthin, lutein, and zeaxanthin on visual function following VDT activity. 