Evaluation of dry eye symptoms and risk factors among medical students in Serbia

Abstract

Background Dry eye is a multifactorial disease defined less than 30 years ago. It is a relatively common disorder, affected by a number of well-known risk factors. Dry eye can be challenging to diagnose because of the possible discrepancy between patients’ symptoms and clinical signs, and its overlap with other ocular surface diseases. Literature-wise, dry eye is usually associated with age and therefore investigated within older populations. Recently, studies focusing on young adult and student populations have demonstrated a higher prevalence of dry eye than previously expected. Aim The study aims to determine the frequency of dry eye symptoms in the student population, and the impact of students’ activities and habits as potential risk factors. Methodology Our study involved 397 students from the medical school at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Students were asked to complete an online survey that addressed general information, health, habits, and routine in everyday use of electronic devices. In addition, students completed a standard Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire. Results The prevalence of dry eye was 60.5% (240/397) in our study population. Contact lens wear (p<0.001), allergies (p = 0.049) and increased number of hours per day using VD devices for studying purposes (p = 0.014) were associtated with a higher risk of dry eye disease. Risk factors that did not significantly impact dry eye were the use of oral contraceptives, smoking, systemic diseases, year of study and sex. Conclusion In our study, the prevalence of dry eye disease was similar or slightly higher than in previous studies among young adults. In addition, contact lenses, allergies and visual display devices were associated with the development of the dry eye.

Prevalence of Dry Eye Symptoms and Associated Risk Factors among University Students in Poland

“…Nevertheless, the results of this study did not reveal any association between DED and regular use of tobacco products on a daily basis. Additionally, studies in Serbia [19] and Dubai [20] did not find a smoking habit to be a risk factor for DED among university students. Contrarily, studies on Malaysian [44] students showed a significant association between DED and smoking.…”

“…Extended use of DDTs is considered to be a key risk factor for DED, which has been confirmed by many studies conducted in various study populations [2,37,38], and also in students in other countries [18][19][20]32,33]. DDT use triggers impaired blinking patterns, leading to disturbed meibum distribution and reduced exposure of the eye surface to tear film, which causes ocular surface damage [11,37].…”

“…Responses to every question ranged from 0, which represents "none of the time", to 4, which represents "all of the time". The final score ranges from 0 to 100 (sum of the 12 questions multiplied by 25 and divided by 12, and then rounded to the next integer) with higher scores representing greater disability: normal (0-12), mild (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22), moderate (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32), severe . This study adopted the criteria followed by other authors, whereby symptomatic DED is defined as any OSDI score above 12 [13,15].…”

“…The results are in line with recent studies carried out in other countries. Cross-sectional surveys, based on the same diagnosis criteria (OSDI score > 12), showed that the prevalence of DED among, Brazilian [18], Serbian [19] and Dubai [20] students was 50.5%, 59.64%, 60.5% and 62.6%, respectively. This resemblance might be due to the similarity of exposure factors between evaluated populations, such as age level, student lifestyle and amount of time spent using DDTs associated with both studying and entertaining.…”

Assessment of the prevalence and risk factors for dry eye symptoms among Romanian medical students using the ocular surface disease index – a cross-sectional study

“…. Based on this result, the patients can be divided into the following categories: no symptoms of DE (0-12), mild symptoms of DE (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22), moderate symptoms of DE (23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32) and severe symptoms of DE (33-100) [15]. The study adopted the standards used by other authors, who defined symptomatic DED as an OSDI score greater than 12 [13,16].…”