Exemplary symptoms of the VDT syndrome include xerophthalmia and carpal tunnel syndrome. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Oct. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — One out of five South Koreans has turned out to be suffering from the visual display terminal (VDT) syndrome due to the spread of so-called ‘untact’ or contactless culture resulting from the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.
VDT syndrome refers to pain in the neck and shoulders and fatigued eyes resulting from prolonged use of screens on such devices as smartphones and computer monitors.
Exemplary symptoms of the VDT syndrome include xerophthalmia and carpal tunnel syndrome.
According to data revealed on Monday by the National Health Insurance Service, the number of individuals who underwent medical treatment due to VDT syndrome during the period from the beginning of 2015 to June 2020 totaled 51.3 million, including those who underwent treatment multiple times.
The number of such patients has grown from 8.6 million in 2015 to 9.5 million last year, reaching 5.4 million in the first half of this year.
In particular, elderly women turned out to be the most vulnerable to VDT syndrome.
During the period from the beginning of 2015 to the first half of this year, the number of female VDT syndrome patients totaled 28.9 million, 6.6 million higher than the number of male patients (22.3 million).
In terms of growth pace, individuals in their 60s marked the highest growth of 26 percent (360,000). Those in their 20s who use smartphones frequently also marked a high growth of 17 percent (110,000) during the same period.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
