ArticleClinical optometry2023
High Prevalence of Symptomatic Dry Eye Disease Among University Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago.
Article in Clinical optometry, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence of dry eye and Meibomian gland dysfunction in Central and South America: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC ophthalmology · 2024Pooled it
- Comparison of SPEED and OSDI questionnaires for dry eye symptom in Chinese college students: a cross-sectional study.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Article
- Comparison of patient reported dry eye symptoms as evaluated by the ocular surface disease index and symptom assessment.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Symptomatic dry eye disease and associated factors among postgraduate students at Hawassa University, Sidama Region, Ethiopia.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Dry eye: A hospital-based sociodemographic, risk and clinical classification profile.Health SA = SA Gesondheid · 2025Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown obligated higher education students to attend online courses, leading to prolonged exposure to digital displays. Excessive time on digital devices could be a risk factor for ocular problems, including symptomatic dry eye. There are limited evidences to show the magnitude of symptomatic dry eye disease and its associated factors during COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to fill this gap, among university students in Trinidad and Tobago. Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students attending the University of West Indies, Saint Augustine Campus from October 2020 to April 2021. The standardized ocular surface disease index questionnaire, descriptive statics and binary logistic regression were used to assess the prevalence and associated factors of dry eye diseases. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: Four hundred (96.3%) participants completed the questionnaire. Among all, 64.8% were female and 50.5% were east Indians. About 48% were using visual display units for average of 10-15 hours/day. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 84.3% (95% CI = 80.8-87.5%) with OSDI score ≥13. Lack of education about dry eye 2.69 (95% CI: 1.41-5.13), use of the reading mode of computer 3.92 (95% CI: 1.57-9.80), refractive error 3.20 (95% CI: 1.66-6.20), previous systemic medications 2.80 (95% CI: 1.15-6.81), and average hours of visual display unit use/day (p<0.001) were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease. Conclusion: Symptomatic dry eye disease was a prominent problem among students at the University of West Indies. Average of >4 hours of visual display unit use/day, refractive error, positive history of systemic medication, lack of education about dry eye, and using computers in reading mode were associated factors.
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