Risk factors, incidence and persistence of symptoms from the eyes among professional computer users

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Symptoms from the eyes are common among computer users. Knowledge is scarce about these problems, however. OBJECTIVES:The aim was to study risk-factors, incidence and persistence of eye-symptoms among professionally active computer users. METHODS: This was a questionnaire based prospective study where 1283 males and females from different professions and companies answered a baseline questionnaire about individual factors and working conditions, e.g. duration of daily computer work, comfort of screen work, psychosocial factors. Subjects were at baseline and 10 follow-ups asked about the number of days with eye-symptoms during the preceding month. RESULTS:The incidence-rate of symptoms persisting minimum three days was 0.38/person-year. A multivariate Hazard-ratio model showed significant associations with extended continuous computer work, tasks with high demands on eye-hand coordination, low level of control, visual discomfort, female sex and nicotine use. Eye-symptoms at baseline was a strong risk factor for new symptoms. CONCLUSION: The incidence of eye-symptoms among professional computer users is high and related to both individual and work-related factors. The organization of computer work should secure frequent breaks from near-work at the computer screen. The severity of vision-related problems could in field studies be quantified by asking for the persistence of symptoms.

Prevalence of Computer Vision Syndrome and Its Relationship with Ergonomic and Individual Factors in Presbyopic VDT Workers Using Progressive Addition Lenses

“…The higher prevalence of CVS in females observed in our study (85.1% women vs. 66.1% men) is also consistent with numerous previous reports [13,[48][49][50][51][52]. This association with sex could be related to dry eye [53][54][55][56].…”

Correlation between handheld digital device use and asthenopia in Chinese college students: a Shanghai study

“…Consistent with other studies, we found that the prevalence of asthenopia was higher in females than in males (56.4% versus 50.4% p < 0.001) (Toomingas et al. ).…”

External eye symptoms in indoor environments

“…Furthermore, the interblink interval during cognitive demanding VDU work is lower and with an increase in incomplete blinks, which may be associated with visual fatigue . In general, extended VDU work is associated with DE symptoms, the more the more cognitive demanding tasks . For draft, humidity, temperature, environmental exposures, and psychological factors, see above.…”

“…Frequent short breaks (0.5–1 minute) should be encouraged to minimize DE symptoms and at the same time maintain or even improve work productivity …”