Prevalence of Ocular Surface Disease Symptoms in High School Students in Monterrey, Mexico.

Abstract

To determine the prevalence of dry eye disease symptoms and contact lens wear in Mexican high school students. A cross-sectional association study included a group of high school students who were selected from a random sampling of classrooms. The authors used the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire as a surrogate measure for dry eye disease symptoms, and contact lens wear was also investigated. Seven hundred fifty-nine students with a mean age of 16.12 ± 0.96 years were surveyed and 55.7% of the students were girls (423 of 759). The average OSDI score was 25.11 ± 20.61 points. Girls had higher scores (28.25 ± 21.48 points) than boys (21.14 ± 18.74 points), and the difference was statistically significant (P < .001). Forty-three students (6.1%) wore contact lenses and had higher OSDI scores (34.26 ± 23.13 and 24.51 ± 20.31 points, respectively) and the difference was also statistically significant (P = .002). Symptoms of mild and moderate dry eye disease are prevalent in high school students and, as reported in previous studies, girls are more affected than boys. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2021;58(5):287-291.].