Is the type of VDT work important in asthenopia?

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Ergonomics
• Ophthalmology

Background:

• Visual fatigue, also known as asthenopia, is a common complaint among workers using display units.
• Understanding the factors contributing to visual fatigue is crucial for improving workplace health and productivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between different types of work performed on display units and the incidence of visual fatigue.
• To identify the primary determinants of asthenopia in a large cohort of telecommunication workers.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving approximately 30,000 videoterminal (VDT) operators from an Italian telecommunication company.
• Data collection on reported visual fatigue symptoms associated with various VDT tasks, including data entry, checking, word processing, and dialogue enquiry.
• Statistical analysis using the Chi-square test to assess the association between VDT work type and asthenopia, controlling for weekly working hours.

Main Results:

• Visual fatigue was reported across a wide range of VDT tasks.
• The Chi-square test revealed no significant relationship between specific VDT work types and the occurrence of asthenopia when weekly working hours were comparable.
• A strong correlation was observed between the total time spent working at VDTs and the prevalence of visual fatigue.

Conclusions:

• The amount of time spent at display units is the principal factor contributing to visual fatigue in VDT operators.
• Task type is not a significant predictor of asthenopia when exposure duration is controlled.
• Recommendations for mitigating visual fatigue should prioritize managing and reducing overall VDT usage time.