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Study: Pediatric contact lens wearers have fewer dry eye complaints

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DENVER – Pediatric contact lens wearers have fewer complaints of dry eye symptoms than do adult wearers, supporting an anecdotal observation. Katie Greiner, BS, of Ohio State University presented these study results here at the American Academy of Optometry meeting.

"The purpose of this study was to determine whether children in contact lenses truly have fewer dry eye complaints than adults," Ms. Greiner said.

Ms. Greiner and colleagues administered the Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire (CLDEQ) to 52 contact lens wearers between the ages of 8 and 14 years. This questionnaire sought to make a diagnosis of dry eye based upon information gathered regarding the frequency and intensity of dryness and light sensitivity within 2 hours of inserting contact lenses, in the middle of the day and at the end of the day. Responses were assessed by multiplying the frequency by the average intensity and a constant. Composite scores were tabulated by subtracting the photophobia score from the dryness score, and the results were compared to similar evaluations of adults in the literature. In addition, the questionnaire asked the pediatric subjects whether they thought they had dry eyes while wearing their lenses.

According to the study results, the mean (+/- standard deviation) CLDEQ composite score was 0.16+/-0.49 (range = 1.45 to -1.20). The adult mean CLDEQ composite score gleaned from the literature (+/-SD) composite score was 1.02+/-0.80 (range = 0.74 to 4.50). Of the 52 surveys completed, 5.8% of the children were categorized with dry eye, compared to 56.2% of adults who responded to the CLDEQ survey as part of a different study. When asked about their dry eye symptoms, 9.6% of the pediatric group claimed to have dry eyes while wearing their lenses, but 40% of these children were not diagnosed as having dry eye based on the CLDEQ. This disparity between patient claims and CLDEQ diagnosis occurred in only 13.9% of adults.

According to Ms. Greiner, future studies may seek to evaluate the cause of the differences in dry eye reports between children and adults.