Effect of convergence insufficiency on speed of reading, writing, and typing in college students

Convergence insufficiency is a common binocular vision anomaly among college students, and its impact on routine near work activities of students needs to be assessed.

This study assessed the reading, writing, and typing speed of young college students with convergence insufficiency and age-matched controls.

A case-control study was conducted among 50 students with convergence insufficiency and 50 control students aged 18 to 25 years. All subjects underwent visual examinations including refractive assessments and evaluations of accommodative and binocular vision parameters. Reading and writing speeds were assessed using the International Reading Speed Texts (IReST) charts while typing speed was measured using the Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) software. Reading, writing and typing speeds were compared between the two groups; and their correlation with clinical parameters related to convergence insufficiency was examined. Additionally, speeds were compared among symptomatic and asymptomatic students, assessed using the Convergence Insufficiency Symptomatic Survey (CISS) scale.

The mean ± standard deviation age of the participants was 20.72 ± 2.00 years. The two groups did not differ in age, gender distribution, visual acuity or spherical equivalent (p > .05 for all). The median [interquartile range] reading speed was 160.34 [152.32-172.00] words per minute (WPM) in convergence insufficiency students, and 183.52 [168.34-201.36] WPM in control students (p < .001). Writing speed averaged 32.98 ± 4.31 WPM in convergence insufficiency students versus 36.48 ± 4.23 WPM in controls (p < .001). The median typing speed was 19.57 [17.57-24.73] WPM in convergence insufficiency students, and 24.15 [19.31-27.40] WPM in control students (p = .007). Correlation analysis showed none to poor correlations between speeds and clinical parameters. No significant differences were observed in speeds between symptomatic and asymptomatic students with convergence insufficiency.

College students with convergence insufficiency were found to have reduced reading, writing and typing speeds.