Abstract
Purpose. To evaluate the influence of alcohol consumption on the retinal-image quality and visual performance under surrounding low-illumination conditions. Methods. A volunteer sample of 67 subjects was analyzed. Optical quality of the eye was evaluated by means of the Strehl ratio, the Objective Scattering Index (OSI), and the tear-film quality. We used the visual disturbance index (VDI) to evaluate visual performance under low-illumination conditions and we measured the pupil size under these conditions. The tear-film volume was also measured. All measurements were made before and after alcohol consumption and patients were classified into two groups depending on their breath alcohol content (BrAC): low-alcohol (BrAC < 0.25 mg/L) and high-alcohol content (BrAC ≥ 0.25 mg/L). Results. The VDI was significantly higher after alcohol consumption: the higher the BrAC, the higher the deterioration of the visual discrimination capacity. The pupil size increased significantly for the high-BrAC group. Parameters evaluating optical quality deteriorated after alcohol consumption. Conclusion. The visual performance under low-illumination conditions and the retinal-image quality were deteriorated after alcohol consumption, especially for the high-alcohol group. Furthermore, some physiological changes were observed under effects for high-alcohol contents, such as an increase in the pupil size and disturbances in the tear film, which deteriorated optical quality.
Highlights
The optical quality of the human eye has been widely studied in recent years, as well as its influence on the visual performance
The night-vision disturbances perceived by the subjects increased after alcohol consumption, in such as way that the higher the rate of breath alcohol the poorer the visual discrimination capacity
The perception of dysphotopsias is accompanied by a deterioration of the contrast sensitivity [8] and a longer time required to recover it after exposure to a high-luminance stimulus [12]. Age is another major factor in the deterioration of visual performance, in such a way that it deteriorates contrast sensitivity and visual-discrimination capacity under low-illumination conditions, in agreement with recent results [24], showing the importance of evaluating functions such as the visual discrimination capacity, given that they provide information which is useful to evaluate the visual performance but that alone could not provide other functions such as visual acuity
Summary
The optical quality of the human eye has been widely studied in recent years, as well as its influence on the visual performance. Some external factors can have an influence on optical quality, such as pupil dilation under lowillumination conditions, where the intraocular scattering and ocular aberrations are expected to augment, contributing to the deterioration of the retinal-image quality [4, 5] All these aspects can interfere with visual performance, as previous studies have demonstrated [1,2,3, 6], and consumption of some types of substance, such as alcohol, can have a negative impact on visual functions [7, 8], hampering many of the daily tasks that require keen vision and full visual performance, such as driving [9], especially under nighttime conditions. Low levels of illuminance together with alcohol consumption could be two important factors that could limit the visual abilities of the subject
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