Evaluation of tear meniscus dimensions using anterior segment optical coherence tomography in video terminal display workers

Abstract

Background: To evaluate tear meniscus height and tear meniscus area measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT) and to determine the prevalence of dry eye disease in video display terminal (VDT) users. Methods: This was a case-control study performed on VDT users. The case group consisted of 53 subjects who vocationally use VDT more than six hours per day and the control group consisted of 49 subjects who used VDT not more than one hour per day. The pre-vocational and post-vocational tear meniscus height and tear meniscus area measurements were performed twice in one day using OCT. Tear-film break-up time, Schirmer's test, Ocular Surface Disease Index score and corneal staining score measurements were performed in all subjects. Results: The mean age was 38.9 AE 5.5 years in VDT users and 37.8 AE 5.8 years in the control group (p = 0.426). Twenty patients (37.7 per cent) had dry eye disease in VDT users and five patients (10.2 per cent) had dry eye disease in the control group (p = 0.001). The mean tear meniscus height and tear meniscus area values (pre-vocational and post-vocational) were significantly lower in VDT users than in the control group (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.024 and p < 0.001, respectively). The Schirmer's test results, Ocular Surface Disease Index scores, corneal staining scores and tear-film break-up time values revealed significant differences between VDT users and control subjects (p = 0.002, p = 0.006, p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In addition, significant correlations were demonstrated between Schirmer's test results, Ocular Surface Disease Index scores, corneal staining scores, tearfilm break-up time measurements, tear meniscus height results and tear meniscus area values. Conclusion: Tear meniscus evaluation using OCT is an effective, non-invasive and sensitive method for detection of dry eye disease in VDT users.

The association between visual display terminal use and dry eye: a review

“…1; Tsubota 1998;Nielsen et al 2008;Cardona et al 2011;Wolkoff et al 2012;Hirota et al 2013;Chu et al 2014;Argil es et al 2015;Stapleton et al 2017). This is supported by the findings of the included studies, where most studies reported a worsening in TBUT after prolonged VDT exposure as well as worse scores in VDT users compared to non-VDT users (Yee et al 2007;Uchino et al 2013;Bhargava et al 2014;Moon et al 2014;Wu et al 2014;Yazici et al 2015;Kim et al 2017;Akkaya et al 2018;Choi et al 2018;Doguizi et al 2019;Prabhasawat et al 2019;Rossi et al 2019;Bilkhu et al 2020). In addition, two studies reported an improvement in TBUT after smartphone cessation and preventive intervention (Moon et al 2016;Vaz et al 2019).…”

“…Three studies were conducted in Turkey (Yazici et al 2015;Akkaya et al 2018;Doguizi et al 2019) and one in Singapore (Iyer et al 2012). The sample sizes ranged from 35 (Iyer et al 2012) to 102 (Doguizi et al 2019), with a combined total of 274 participants. The female-to-male ratio was 168:106 with an average age of 39 years across studies.…”

Online Learning-Related Visual Function Impairment During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…During online learning, long-term attention to the screen can reduce the blinking frequency and tear film renewal ( 41 ). Blue light from electronic screens can reduce tear film stability, thereby leading to eye discomfort and dry eye, which can manifest as dryness sensations, burning sensations, foreign body sensations, photophobia, vision fluctuations, etc., ( 42 ). The study of Xu et al reported that usage of VDTs can lower the stability of tear film.…”

Effects of wearing swimming goggles on non-invasive tear break-up time in a laboratory setting

“…Also, different occupational activities such as visual tasks that lead to insufficient eye blink frequency and increase of the ocular surface area (e.g., prolonged near-work, use of electronic displays or adopting a vertical gaze position [aircraft pilots]), personal factors (e.g., age, gender or medication use) or wearing contact lenses have also been associated with instability of the precorneal tear film, leading to ocular dryness, irritation and discomfort. 4 , 5 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 …”