ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of a dry eye mobile application (app) for screening dry eye disease (DED) at educational tear events in Japan. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, Japanese subjects visiting a "Tears Day" event were selected randomly. They completed questionnaires and underwent ophthalmic evaluations for DED (using Japanese revised diagnostic criteria) including a functional visual acuity (FVA) test. The app calculated FVA using the average of the continuous VA over 30â¯s. RESULTS: Sixty-three general-population subjects were included: 25 men and 38 women (average age, 50.8⯱â¯15.9 years). The prevalence of DED was 66.7% (42 subjects); age was significantly higher among subjects with DED (55.2⯱â¯3.4 vs. 48.1⯱â¯2.7 years, pâ¯=â¯0.04; men, 54.0⯱â¯7.3 vs. 47.0⯱â¯3.0 years, pâ¯=â¯0.36; women, 55.5⯱â¯3.9 vs. 50.6⯱â¯3.8 years, pâ¯=â¯0.4). The prevalence of DED was significantly higher in women (pâ¯=â¯0.04). Tear film breakup time was significantly shorter (3.8⯱â¯2.4 vs. 8.7⯱â¯2.0, pâ¯=â¯0.04) and the meibum score was significantly higher (pâ¯=â¯0.02) among subjects with DED. Regarding the tear film breakup pattern, line and random breaks were most prevalent among DED. FVA showed a significant negative correlation with DED (râ¯=â¯-0.25, pâ¯=â¯0.047). CONCLUSIONS: The app might motivate people to perform quick tests with the expectation of getting easy DED screening. The number of subjects diagnosed with DED was relatively high.