Ocular Surface Status in Individuals Having Long-Term Occupational Sunlight Exposure

Abstract

To investigate the ocular surface status in individuals having long-term occupational sunlight exposure. This study was carried out with a historical cohort design. Long-term occupational sunlight exposure was considered the main exposure. The exposure group included individuals who had direct sunlight exposure in their workplace (124 people with a mean age range of 31.6±6.32), and the non-exposure group was comprised of 182 people (mean age range of 31.6±6.32) who worked indoors and had no long-term exposure to sunlight during work hours. The mean of TBUT in the Sun-exposure group (10.91±6.64 sec.) was significantly lower than the non-exposure one (13.91±9.67 sec.) (P=0.001). 42.9 percent of the members of the non-exposure and 58.9 of the sun-exposure group demonstrated TBUT values lower than 10 seconds. While the mean of OSDI in the exposure group was higher than in the non-exposure group, this difference was not statistically significant. Based on the OSDI results, 51.6 percent of the non-exposure group and 58.9 percent of the exposure group suffered from dry eye. The prevalence of diseases such as Pterygium, blepharitis, and pinguecula in the sun-exposure group was significantly higher than in the non-exposure group (P<0.0001). Based on the results of this study, people who have long-term occupational sunlight exposure tend to have more unstable tear films compared with people who do not have such exposure. In addition, the prevalence of diseases such as Pterygium, blepharitis, and pinguecula is higher among these people.