Retinal-image quality and night-vision performance after alcohol consumption

Purpose. To evaluate the influence of alcohol consumption on the retinal-image quality and visual performance under surrounding low-illumination conditions. Methods. A volunteer sample of 67 subjects was analyzed. Optical quality of the eye was evaluated by means of the Strehl ratio, the Objective Scattering Index (OSI), and the tear-film quality. We used the visual disturbance index (VDI) to evaluate visual performance under low-illumination conditions and we measured the pupil size under these conditions. The tear-film volume was also measured. All measurements were made before and after alcohol consumption and patients were classified into two groups depending on their breath alcohol content (BrAC): low-alcohol (BrAC < 0.25 mg/L) and high-alcohol content (BrAC ≥ 0.25 mg/L). Results. The VDI was significantly higher after alcohol consumption: the higher the BrAC, the higher the deterioration of the visual discrimination capacity. The pupil size increased significantly for the high-BrAC group. Parameters evaluating optical quality deteriorated after alcohol consumption. Conclusion. The visual performance under low-illumination conditions and the retinal-image quality were deteriorated after alcohol consumption, especially for the high-alcohol group. Furthermore, some physiological changes were observed under effects for high-alcohol contents, such as an increase in the pupil size and disturbances in the tear film, which deteriorated optical quality.