1. The association between visual display terminal use and dry eye: a review
- Author
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Jelle Vehof, Ketil Fjaervoll, Haakon Fjaervoll, Darlene A. Dartt, Morten Scherven Magnø, Emily Moschowits, and Tor Paaske Utheim
- Subjects
Pediatrics ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,prevalence ,tørre øyne ,Signs and symptoms ,Disease ,dry eye disease (DED) ,Office workers ,Dry eye diseases ,Quality of life ,visual display terminal ,Daily VDT duration thresholds ,Prevalence ,Medicine ,Humans ,Risk factor ,Pandemics ,skjermbruk ,business.industry ,COVID-19 ,General Medicine ,dry eye disease ,Visual display terminals ,Occupational Diseases ,Ophthalmology ,daily VDT duration thresholds ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Computer Terminals ,øyesykdommer ,Tears ,Inclusion and exclusion criteria ,Quality of Life ,Dry Eye Syndromes ,business ,Medisinske Fag: 700::Klinisk medisinske fag: 750::Oftalmologi: 754 [VDP] - Abstract
Background. Dry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disease of the tear film and ocular surface. It causes ocular symptoms, reduced quality of life and a considerable economic burden on society. Prolonged use of visual display terminals (VDTs) has been suggested as an important risk factor for DED. Purpose. This review aims to study the association between DED and VDT use with an emphasis on the prevalence of DED among VDT users and harmful daily duration of VDT use. Methods. A PubMed search was conducted and yielded 57 relevant articles based on a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The studies were subclassified according to study design. Results. The far majority of the studies showed an association between VDT use and DED or DED-related signs and symptoms. The prevalence of definite or probable DED in VDT and office workers ranged from 26% to 70%, with as few as 1–2 hr of VDT exposure per day being associated with DED. Conclusion. VDT use is strongly associated with DED. VDT-associated DED is prevalent, but the exact prevalence needs to be further elucidated using standardized DED diagnosis criteria. Furthermore, a safe lower limit of daily VDT use has yet to be established. More research is needed on the effect of digitalization and digital transformation, which are particularly high during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. This research was partly funded by NFR 271555 grant by the Norwegian Research Council, through the Medical Student Research Program. D.A. Dartt: NIH R01 EY019470, NIH R01 EY029789.
- Published
- 2021