Purpose
To assess the time of exposure to the computer and dry eye disease (DED) in subjects with computer vision syndrome (CVS).
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted in office workers, computer users of both sexes, with an age range of 18–45 years without comorbidities; we included 108 subjects divided into 3 groups according to the time of computer exposure in hours per day (H/D): <4 (n = 23), 4 −7.9 (n = 49), >8 (n = 39). A specific questionnaire was applied to them on the exposure time and the type of visual display terminal (VDT) used, as well as the computer vision symptoms scale (CVSS17). DED was diagnosed with the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI). Ocular surface damage and signs of DED were evaluated with the tear rupture time test (TBUT), the integrity of the ocular surface by ocular surface staining (OSS) and the production of the aqueous basal tear film using the Schirmer test.
Results
Average computer exposure time, measured differently, was positively correlated with DED development. The computer exposure time measured in hours per year and TBUT showed a significant negative correlation (p <0.001) (rho −0.463). Years of computer exposure and staining of the ocular surface showed a significant positive correlation (p <0 0.001; rho 0.404). The accumulated exposure time was negatively correlated with TBUT (p <0.001; rho −0.376) and positively with OSS (p <0.001; rho 0.433). Schirmer test did not correlate with computer exposure time.
Conclusion
The prolonged time of exposure to the computer in subjects with CVS was significantly correlated with the DED tests, in the different ways of measuring it; but not with the Schirmer test.
The results indicate that SOD activity is associated with MetS in Mexican subjects, allowing us to suggest that this enzyme plays an important role in the pathophysiology of MetS.
In previous studies in animal models, Trypanosoma cruzi-induced oxidative stress and damage have sometimes been controlled by the host's anti-oxidant defence responses. The role of the anti-oxidant defence responses, such as the activities of the anti-oxidant enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), in protection against inflammation and damage have now been investigated in humans infected with T. cruzi. The subjects were 32 asymptomatic but seropositive individuals with the indeterminate form of Chagas disease, 18 symptomatic and seropositive patients with the chronic disease, and 50 seronegative and apparently healthy controls. The inflammatory process was explored using serum concentrations of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and NO. The serum concentrations of GPx in the patients in the indeterminate phase of infection were similar to those in the controls but much higher than those in the chronic cases (P=0.001). The serum concentrations of SOD in the patients in the indeterminate phase of infection were not only significantly higher than those in the cases of chronic Chagas disease (P=0.0004) but also significantly higher than those in the controls (P<0.001). The seropositive subjects had significantly higher serum concentrations of TNF and NO than the controls (P<0.01 for each) and the cases of chronic Chagas disease had significantly higher serum concentrations of TNF and NO than the subjects with the indeterminate form of the disease (P<0.01 for each). It therefore appears that the host's anti-oxidant defence responses (at least in terms of elevated concentrations of SOD) may inhibit inflammation during the indeterminate phase of Chagas disease.
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