Effects of Prolonged Reading on Dry Eye.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Ocular Surface Disease
• Tear Film Dynamics

Background:

• Dry eye disease (DED) significantly impacts quality of life.
• Ocular surface parameters can be affected by environmental factors and visual tasks.
• Assessing DED requires understanding its response to daily activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of prolonged silent reading on tear film and ocular surface parameters.
• To compare these effects in individuals with dry eye and healthy controls.

Main Methods:

• A prospective, observational study involving 177 dry eye patients and 34 controls (≥50 years).
• Baseline measurements included Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), non-invasive tear break-up time (TBUT), and corneal/conjunctival staining.
• Parameters were re-evaluated after a 30-minute silent reading task.

Main Results:

• Ocular surface parameters, including corneal and conjunctival staining, significantly worsened after reading in both groups.
• Worsening was particularly pronounced in the dry eye group (P < 0.001).
• Baseline OSDI scores correlated with post-reading TBUT and staining, and changes in TBUT/Schirmer's test correlated with baseline values.

Conclusions:

• Standard ocular surface assessments at rest may not capture functional deficits induced by reading.
• Prolonged reading exacerbates ocular surface compromise, potentially explaining symptom-clinician sign discordance in DED.
• Quantifying DED after visual tasks improves understanding of patient symptomatology.