Prevalence of Dry Eyes Among Computer Exposed

and Non-computer Exposed Employees in a

Hospital Based Population: a Descriptive Cross
Sectional Comparative Study

Joanna Marie F. Sinense, M.D.

 Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Objectives
• Methodology
• Results
• Discussion and Conclusion
• Recommendations
• References
• Appendices
 Introduction
• Vast number of factors is responsible for the
imbalance in tear production that characterizes
dry eye disease (DED) with ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS being the most prevalent
• A modern-day lifestyle where prolonged use of
visual display terminals has become the norm
• People who operate digital devices, blink less
frequently→ dry eyes
Multifactorial disease of tears and ocular surface
that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual
disturbance, and tear film instability with
potential damage to ocular surface. It is
accompanied by increased osmolality of tear
film and inflammation of ocular surface

S. E.Moss, R. Klein, and B. E. K. Klein, “Prevalance of and risk factors

for dry eye syndrome,” Archives of Ophthalmology, vol. 118, no. 9, pp. 1264–1268, 2000.
• Known risk factors for DED include increasing
age, female sex, hormonal changes, (e.g.,
postmenopausal)7, eyelid disease8 ,refractive
surgery9, autoimmune disease10, and
smoking11
• (TBUT) is a test used to measure the relatively
stability of the precorneal tear film. Because it
is a simple test, it has been widely used as a
clinical diagnostic test for dry eyes
• DED has been associated with impairment in
performing daily activities, as well as
decreased productivity at work.

Miljanovic B, Dana R, Sullivan DA, Schaumberg DA. Impact of dry eye syndrome on
vision-related quality of life. AmJ Ophthalmol 2007;143:409- 15. Epub 107 Jan2.
• The Veterans Regional Hospital and Trauma
Center (VRHTC) is trying to cope up with the
advances of technology with the introduction
of the “paper-less” system wherein files are to
be stored and easily accessed using
computers.
 OBJECTIVES
The general objective of this study is to
determine the prevalence of DED among
employees of VRHTC by answering the following
specific objectives:
• To determine if there is a relationship between
having DED and visual display terminal/computer
exposure
• To determine the relationship between positive DED
and age and gender among Computer Exposed group
• Design
A descriptive comparative cross sectional
design
• October 2015 up to November 2015.
• Study Population, Exclusion Criteria
From the general population of all employees
of VRHTC (N=660), 360 employees were
obtained by random selection in the computer
database and was invited to answer a Patient
Profile Questionnaire (Appendix A) used as a
basis for having a final list of patients to be
included in the study.
• Out of 360 employees, proportionate
stratified random sampling was done in order
to yield 10 male and 10 female respondents in
each age range, gender, and study group
(exposed and non-exposed) having 120
participants in total
• Exclusion criteria included employees with previous
history of ocular surgeries (cataract surgeries, pterygium
excisions and other anterior segment operations such as
LASIK, corneal laceration repairs, employees with other
co-morbid eye conditions other than a pre-existing dry
eye syndrome (corneal dystrophies, corneal pannus
formations), employees using contact lens to correct error
of refraction, smoker for more than 10 years, employees
with prolonged sun, dust and wind exposure (eg. In
previous work: driving, construction works, farming), and
employees 50 years old and above.
 Materials and Methods
Presentation of research and presentation of the Dry Eye Questionnaire (Appendix A)
to the sample population
(n=360)

Presentation of
Informed Consent (Appendix B) to possible
Participants (n=120)
• Tear Break Up Time is defined as the interval
between the last complete blink and the
appearance of a dry spot, or disruption in the
tear film.
TBUT >/=10 seconds: “Negative for DED”
TBUT <10 seconds is: “Positive for DED”
• Employees with visual display terminal/computer
exposure of zero to five cumulative hours per day, were
classified to the Non-computer Exposed group and
anyone exceeding five hours per day were classified to
the Computer Exposed group.
• Frequencies and percentages were used to
summarize counts within age-groups and sex. Analysis of
variance, paired T test and chi-square proportional test
were used to test if the exposure to computers has a
significant effect to the drying of eyes of the employees.
 RESULTS
Table 1. Frequency and Percentages of Dry Eye Disease among Computer
Exposed and Non Computer Exposed Employees with relation to Age and Sex
Computer Exposed Frequency Percentage T value Significance value

Positive 21 35% 0.574 0.568ns

Negative 39 65%

Total 60 100

Non Computer Frequency Percentage

Exposed

Positive 18 30%

Negative 42 70%

Total 60 100

ns=Not significant
Table 2. Dry Eye Disease among Computer Exposed Employees with relation to
Age and Sex
  Age Group Total Chi Square Value P value
Goodness of fit test

    20-29 30-39 40-49   Gender Age Gender Age

Gender Male 4 2 2 8 1.190 0.857 0.275ns 0.651ns

  Female 2 4 7 13

Total   6 6 9 21

ns=Not significant
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION