ArticleIndian journal of ophthalmology2021
Prolonged face mask use might worsen dry eye symptoms.
Article in Indian journal of ophthalmology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- TFOS lifestyle: Impact of societal challenges on the ocular surface.The ocular surface · 2023Pooled it
- Mask-associated dry eye disease following short-term facemask wear with or without nasal bridge taping among health workers at a Nigerian tertiary care facility: a cross-over randomized clinical trial.BMC ophthalmology · 2026Trial
- Influence of short-term face mask wear on semiautomatically measured tear film parameters in dry eye patients and healthy volunteers.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2023Trial
- Real or MADE-up: Investigating Mask-Associated Dry Eye (MADE) as an emerging syndrome.Eye (London, England) · 2024Review
- The impact of prolonged face mask use on ocular surface health during COVID-19 pandemic: a clinical, and conjunctiva impression cytology study.International ophthalmology · 2024Article
- Face Mask and Tear Film Stability: A Pilot Study of the Objective Measurement of Tear Break-Up Time.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- The Effect of Mask Use on the Ocular Surface During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Turkish journal of ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Microbiological Profile of Infectious Keratitis During Covid-19 Pandemic.Clinical ophthalmology (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Face Mask in COVID-19 and Its Association With Dry Eye Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.Cureus · 2022Article
- Acute Foggy Corneal Epithelial Disease: Seeking Clinical Features and Risk Factors.Journal of clinical medicine · 2022Article
- Comparison of the Pre-Lens Tear Film Stability and Visual Performance of a Novel and Two Other Daily Disposable Contact Lenses in Healthcare Professionals Wearing Facial Masks for Prolonged Time.Clinical optometry · 2022Article
- Study of Face Mask-associated Dry Eye among Medical Students.International journal of applied & basic medical researchArticle
- Impact of face mask usage on physiological and histological ocular surface features of hydrogel and silicone hydrogel contact lens wearers.Oman journal of ophthalmologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore whether prolonged and consistent face mask use might be associated with worsening of dry eye symptoms in patients with dry eye disease (DED). Methods: Subjects with a previous diagnosis of DED. Their OSDI scores were compared with those recorded in Fall 2019 using the Wilcoxon paired test. Participants were stratified by face mask use: heavy (Group A) or standard (Group B) face mask users. Heavy use was defined as wearing any type of face mask for at least 6 hours a day, at least 5 days per week in the last 2 months. Results: 67 subjects (mean age: 45.27 ± 10.06 SD years, 40% males and 60% females). Median OSDI score in Fall 2019: 18.75. Median OSDI in Spring 2020: 20.83. The Hodges-Lehmann median difference was 2.09 (95% CI [1.05, 4.17]) (P < 0.0001). The population was then stratified into heavy and standard face mask users: Group A included heavy users (31 subjects; mean age: 42.81 ± 10.48 SD years; 35% males and 65% females), Group B included standard users (36 subjects; mean age: 47.39 ± 9.31 SD years; 44% males and 56% females). The Hodges-Lehmann median difference was 5.21 (95% CI [3.13, 7.29]) in Group A (P < 0.0001), and 1.04 (95% [0],[ 2.08]) in Group B (P = 0.0177). Conclusion: Prolonged and consistent face mask use is associated with an increase in OSDI scores. Whether face mask use is responsible for the worsening of symptoms of DED remains to be elucidated.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.