A Study to Estimate the Magnitude of Dry Eye Disease among Adolescent Population using Visual Display Terminals in Lockdown Period — A Cross-sectional Observational Hospital Based Study

ABSTRACT

Background: Dry Eye a grave problem in recent days has become a matter of concern for its diversity of symptoms including blurred vision and foreign body sensation and difficulty in diagnosis. There has been a sharp rise of Dry Eye symptoms during lockdown period in individuals who are using Visual Display Terminals (VDT). This study was conducted to find out the magnitude of Dry Eye among adolescents using VDTs during COVID Lockdown. Material and method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a medical college for a duration of one year. Individuals in the adolescent age group with digital eye strain and history of VDT use were included; those with any ocular abnormality and ocular surgery were excluded. After taking a detailed history and proper examination they were evaluated for Dry Eye using OSDI score, TBUT test and Schirmer’s test. Subjects with an OSDI score of greater than 13, Tear Film Break Up Time (TBUT) less than 10 seconds and Schirmer’s test <5mm were considered Dry Eye patient in our study. Result: In 303 patients between age group 10-19 years with complaints of Digital Eye Strain such as eye discomfort, burning & foreign body sensation etc were selected for this study. The mean age of study population was 15.22±1.91 years with a range between 10 years to 19 years median being 15 years. Among them 162 patients (53.46%) were female and 141 (46.54%) were male (male female ratio - 1.151). The overall proportion of Dry Eye in our study population was found to be 67.98%. In 85.44% of Dry Eye patients belonged to severe Dry Eye group while 11.16% belonged to moderate group and only 3.4% had a mild variety. Burning (32.95%) and foreign body sensation (47.72%) were most common significant symptoms found in severe Dry Eye. Mean total screen time in Non-Dry Eye patients (159.17±56.71) mins was significantly lower that of dry eye patients (417.57±76.83) mins. [J Indian Med Assoc 202