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Jobs with high visual display use have greater risk of dry eye
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Researchers found that occupations with high visual display use are associated with an increased risk of dry eye disease, and outdoor occupations have a lower risk, according to a study presented at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.
A subset of 40,501 employed people working at least 8 hours a week were included from the population-based Lifelines cohort in The Netherlands and underwent the Women’s Health Study dry eye questionnaire.
“Our population-based study showed that, after correction for age and sex and 42 comorbidities, outdoor occupations and active occupations are highly protective for dry eye disease,” researcher Jelle Vehof, MD, PhD, told Primary Care Optometry News.
The professionals, technicians, associate professionals and clerical support workers were associated with a higher risk of dry eye disease, according to researchers.
They found a lower risk for dry eye in service and sales workers, skilled agricultural workers, plants and machine operators, and assemblers and elementary occupations.
Legal and administrative professionals and customer service clerks were highly associated with dry eye.
“This large study showed a clear association between type of occupation and symptoms of dry eye, indicating the importance of asking about social history and environment for clinicians treating patients with dry eye,” Vehof said.
The association of dry eye occupations has implications for public health and clinical practice, the researchers wrote.
“Dry eye is multifactorial, especially symptomatic dry eye, and just focusing on the ocular surface and artificial tears is not sufficient. Our results warrant further study on the protective effect of activity and outdoor exposure on patients with dry eye,” Vehof concluded. – by Abigail Sutton
Reference:
Bazeer S, et al. The relationship between occupation and dry eye disease. Presented at: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology; Honolulu; April 29-May 3, 2018.
Disclosures: The researchers reported no relevant financial disclosures.