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Squinting during computer use may lead to dry eye

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People who squint while looking at a computer screen may be more likely to develop dry eye because their blink rate slows, a recent study suggests.

James E. Sheedy, OD, PhD, FAAO and colleagues hypothesized that eyelid squint reduces blink rate, and they designed a study to test the hypothesis. In the study, 10 people ranging in age from 18 to 38 years performed three 1-minute tasks with voluntary squint levels of 5%, 20%, 25% and 50%. Blink rates and other measurements during these tasks were compared to previously measured results with the same participants at 0% and 100% squint levels.

Each target squint level produced significant changes (P < .0001) in ocular aperture size, electromyography power and electromyography amplitude. Blink rate was inversely related to both target squint level and squint response, decreasing from 15 blinks per minute at 0% squint to 7.5 blinks per minute at 5% target voluntary squint to four blinks per minute at 50% target voluntary squint.

The study is published in Optometry and Vision Science.