Ezinne Ngozika, Alemu Haile W, Cheklie Tarekegn, Ekemiri Kingsley, Mohammed Ryan, James Sakeem
Optometry Unit, Department of Clinical Surgical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies.
Department of Optometry, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
Clin Optom (Auckl). 2023 Mar 3;15:37-43. doi: 10.2147/OPTO.S396135. eCollection 2023.
The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown obligated higher education students to attend online courses, leading to prolonged exposure to digital displays. Excessive time on digital devices could be a risk factor for ocular problems, including symptomatic dry eye. There are limited evidences to show the magnitude of symptomatic dry eye disease and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to fill this gap, among university students in Trinidad and Tobago.
An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students attending the University of West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus from October 2020 to April 2021. The standardized ocular surface disease index questionnaire, descriptive statics and binary logistic regression were used to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dry eye diseases. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant.
Four hundred (96.3%) participants completed the questionnaire. Among all, 64.8% were female and 50.5% were east Indians. About 48% were using visual display units for average of 10-15 hours/day. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 84.3% (95% CI = 80.8-87.5%) with OSDI score ≥13. Lack of education about dry eye 2.69 (95% CI: 1.41-5.13), use of the reading mode of computer 3.92 (95% CI: 1.57-9.80), refractive error 3.20 (95% CI: 1.66-6.20), previous systemic medications 2.80 (95% CI: 1.15-6.81), and average hours of visual display unit use/day (p<0.001) were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease.
Symptomatic dry eye disease was a prominent problem among students at the University of West Indies. Average of >4 hours of visual display unit use/day, refractive error, positive history of systemic medication, lack of education about dry eye, and using computers in reading mode were associated factors.
新冠疫情封锁措施使高等教育学生不得不参加在线课程，导致他们长时间接触电子显示屏。在电子设备上花费过多时间可能是眼部问题的一个风险因素，包括有症状的干眼症。关于新冠疫情期间有症状的干眼症疾病的严重程度及其相关因素的证据有限。本研究旨在填补特立尼达和多巴哥大学生中的这一空白。
2020年10月至2021年4月，在西印度群岛大学圣奥古斯丁校区的本科生中进行了一项基于机构的横断面研究。使用标准化的眼表疾病指数问卷、描述性统计和二元逻辑回归来评估干眼症的患病率及其相关因素。p值小于0.05的变量被认为具有统计学意义。
400名（96.3%）参与者完成了问卷。其中，64.8%为女性，50.5%为东印度人。约48%的人平均每天使用视觉显示设备10至15小时。OSDI评分≥13时，有症状的干眼症疾病患病率为84.3%（95%CI = 80.8 - 87.5%）。对干眼症缺乏了解（2.69，95%CI：1.41 - 5.13）、使用电脑阅读模式（3.92，95%CI：1.57 - 9.80）、屈光不正（3.20，95%CI：1.66 - 6.20）、以前使用过全身药物（2.80，95%CI：1.15 - 6.81）以及每天使用视觉显示设备的平均小时数（p<0.001）与有症状的干眼症疾病显著相关。
有症状的干眼症疾病是西印度群岛大学学生中的一个突出问题。每天使用视觉显示设备平均超过4小时、屈光不正、有全身用药史、对干眼症缺乏了解以及使用电脑阅读模式是相关因素。
