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North Americans report more hours of lens wear, dryness, discomfort
North American soft contact lens wearers wore fewer toric and multifocal designs and reported longer average and uncomfortable wearing times, compared to those in the U.K., according to researchers in Optometry and Vision Science.
Results were based on self-administered questionnaires on soft contact lens symptoms and wearing experience and the researchers’ categorization of contact lens-related dry eye.
The prevalence of contact lens dry eye differed between the two regions; it was 31% in the U.K. vs. 39% in North America. Prevalence of marginal contact lens dry eye was 13% in the U.K. vs. 14% in North America, and never/rare prevalence was 56% vs. 47%, respectively.
Researchers concluded that future studies should focus on the need to benchmark soft contact lens performance locally or regionally to understand the challenges regarding lens wearing.
Daily disposable lenses were more often worn in the U.K., but their use did not impact overall dryness, according to researchers,
Wearers in North America consistently used more treatments for soft contact lens-related dryness but reported a lower degree of relief for contact lenses intended to reduce dryness and warm compresses or lid scrubs, they said. North American wearers also reported approximately twice the length of uncomfortable hours per wear each day compared to those in the U.K.
“Perhaps local factors in North America such as drier, more arid climates, increased presence of air conditioning or central forced heat, or differential rates of medication use may overwhelm lens material as a driver of soft contact lens-related dryness,” researchers wrote. – by Abigail Sutton
Disclosure: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.