ABSTRACT
AIM: Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent ocular condition that significantly impacts individuals' quality of life and performance. It is charac-terized by the instability of the tear film, which causes ocular surface inflamma-tion and damage that leads to ocular symptoms. However, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of DED and identify associated risk factors among university students in western Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A total of 402 university students participated in this study. The sample size was determined using Raosoft software (Raosoft, Inc., Seattle, WA), considering an estimated student population of 20,000. Data were collected between January and March 2023 through an online questionnaire distributed to the participants. The questionnaire comprised three sections, covering general information, behaviors related to digital device (DD) use, and the validated Arabic version of the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. OSDI scores were calculated, and the severity of DED was categorized using established cutoff points. RESULTS: Among the 402 university students who took part in the survey, the majority (63.2%) were aged between 21 and 25 years, with females representing the dominant gender (72.9%). Notably, 90.8% of participants reported using DDs at bedtime. Over 60% of students had been using DDs for more than 10 years, and approximately 61.7% reported having more than six hours of daily screen time. Mobile devices were the most commonly used electronic devices (67.2%), and TikTok emerged as the most frequently used application (35.6%). Based on the OSDI criteria, 21.1% of students had mild DED symptoms, 14.9% had moderate symptoms, and 38.6% had severe symptoms. Hence, the prevalence of students exhibiting positive DED symptoms was 74.6%, while 25.4% were negative.
ABSTRACT
This systematic review and meta-analysis generates evidence of the prevalence and associated factors of common mental disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) related to the pandemic among the Saudi general population. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was performed in the respective databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science), from 22 July to 17 August 2021, and identified a total of 220 articles. Adhering to the inclusion criteria (i.e., original research concerning the prevalence and/or associated factors of depression and/or anxiety and/or stress disorders among the general Saudi population, published in English peer-reviewed journals), 15 studies were included in this review which consisted of a total of 262,656 participants. The overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress was 30% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 22% to 38%, I2 = 99.58%), 20% (95% CI: 16% to 24%, I2 = 99.32%), and 29% (95% CI: 11% to 47%, I2 = 99.76%), respectively. Risk factors of mental health problems were found to be female sex, younger age group, single/divorced marital status, lower education, lower income, non-Saudis, unemployment status, students, being in a small family and living with elderly of the sociodemographic factors. Smokers, less physical activities, lower resilience, reduced immune status, chronic health problems, and psychiatric illness history were associated with a higher degree of mental health problems. In addition, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related risk factors of mental illness included lack of knowledge, fear, worry and concern, family member or friends' infection or death, lockdown restrictions, quarantine, confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 infection, and even pandemic effects. In conclusion, appropriate mental health preventive approaches for the Saudi general people are highly needed, where this review can be worthy of help by providing in detailed information to the respective authorities.
