The association between smartphone addiction and dry eye disease: A cross-sectional study

• Published in: Journal of nature and science of medicine 2019-01, Vol.2 (2), p.81-85
• Main Authors: Ayman Mohammed Baabdullah, Abdulmalik Ghassan Abumohssin, Yara Aedh Alqahtani, Ismail Ahmed Nemri, Dania Abdulelah Sabbahi, Nizar Mohammed Alhibshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: contact lenses; dry eye disease; eye disease; eye drops; smartphone addiction; vitamin a therapy
• ISSN: 2589-627X; 2589-6288
• DOI: 10.4103/JNSM.JNSM_51_18

Background: The use of smartphones has increased exponentially. Excessive usage of smartphones has been shown to have a negative impact on ocular health. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between smartphone addiction and dry eye disease (DED) and determine the risk factors of DED in participants associated with smartphone addiction. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2017. Participants were selected from the Faculty of Medicine at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Stratified random sampling technique was used to recruit participants according to their academic year with an equal allocation of males and females. Only participants owning smartphones were included in the study. DED was assessed using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire and a short-version of the smartphone addiction scale (SAS-SV) was used to assess smartphone addiction among the participants. Data were analyzed using Pearson's Chi-squared test and binary logistic regression. Results: A total of 443 completed questionnaires were received, providing a response rate of 94%. Almost half of the participants were found to have DED (49.4%). There was no significant association between smartphone addiction and DED (P = 0.102). However, significant associations were observed between DED and contact lens use, eye drops, eye disease, and Vitamin A therapy (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Contrary to what was locally reported, DED had a lower prevalence. Despite no significant correlation with smartphone addiction, DED was found to be associated with the use of contact lenses, Vitamin A therapy, and eye drops. Several risk factors and clinical predictors of DED might exist, which highlight the importance of performing a complete clinical ophthalmological assessment.