Abstract
To assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on dry-eye symptoms in a community-based population, a cross-sectional study was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand. An online survey was distributed via social media between June and July 2020. The questionnaire elicited information on demographics, dry-eye symptoms, use of visual display terminals, and mental health status. There were 535 respondents. Thirty-seven percent reported having been diagnosed with dry-eye disease (DED). During the lockdown, the mean dry-eye symptom score (DESS) of overall participants dropped significantly from 81.6 ± 15.9 to 79.8 ± 17.4 (P < 0.001). The mean, daily, visual display terminal (VDT) usage increased from 10.55 ± 5.16 to 13.08 ± 5.65 h (P < 0.001). A negative correlation between age and VDT usage was observed in both the normal and lockdown situations. One-quarter of all participants had an abnormal mental health status. The female gender (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.14–3.04) and increased VDT usage during the lockdown (OR 5.68; 95% CI 3.49–9.23) were independently associated with worsening dry-eye symptoms. The lockdown measures abruptly altered the behaviors and lifestyles of the overall population. Excessive exposure to VDTs were associated with deteriorated dry-eye symptoms, and it possibly contributed to the increased DED incidence in the surveyed population.
Highlights
To assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on dry-eye symptoms in a community-based population, a cross-sectional study was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand
Thirtyseven percent (37.2%) of all participants reported they had been diagnosed with dry-eye disease (DED) by an ophthalmologist
This study proved that the COVID-19 lockdown exacerbated the dry-eye symptoms of both DED patients and normal subjects aged up to 60
Summary
To assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown measures on dry-eye symptoms in a community-based population, a cross-sectional study was conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak in Thailand. The questionnaire elicited information on demographics, dry-eye symptoms, use of visual display terminals, and mental health status. The female gender (OR 1.86; 95% CI 1.14–3.04) and increased VDT usage during the lockdown (OR 5.68; 95% CI 3.49–9.23) were independently associated with worsening dry-eye symptoms. Excessive exposure to VDTs were associated with deteriorated dry-eye symptoms, and it possibly contributed to the increased DED incidence in the surveyed population. While focusing on VDTs, a longer blinking interval exacerbates the evaporation of tears and eventually increases the risk of developing dry-eye disease (DED)[7,8,9,10]. The increasing number of cases of DED was estimated to have an enormous negative impact upon economies and healthcare systems across Asia, Europe, and the United S tates[28]
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