Abstract: Dry eye among Japanese high school students

THESE ARE ABSOLUTELY MIND-BOGGLING NUMBERS.

Very worrying. I sure would like to see a study like this done on high school students the US! I have worried for quite some time about the twenty-somethings and even teenagers on DryEyeTalk who have no obvious disease or dry eye cause. We really need better education of youngsters on eyecare so that at least they can be forewarned about things that could make this worse, such as abusing contact lenses or using vasoconstrictors frequently.

Japan Ministry of Health Study on Prevalence of Dry Eye Disease Among Japanese High School Students.
Am J Ophthalmol. 2008 Aug 22.
Uchino M, Dogru M, Uchino Y, Fukagawa K, Shimmura S, Takebayashi T, Schaumberg DA, Tsubota K.

PURPOSE: To determine the prevalence of dry eye disease and contact lens (CL) use among Japanese private high school students.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional prevalence survey. METHODS: We carried out a cross-sectional survey in 3,433 Japanese high school students who completed questionnaires designed to ascertain a prior diagnosis of dry eye disease and current symptoms of dry eye disease, as well as information on CL use and type of CL. We used logistic regression analysis to examine the associations between dry eye disease and CL use.

RESULTS: Of the 3,443 high school students, 3,433 (100%) completed the questionnaires. A total of 2,848 boys and 585 girls joined and the age range was from 15 to 18 years. Clinically diagnosed dry eye disease was present in 123 boys (4.3%) and 47 girls (8.0%). Severe symptoms of dry eye disease were observed in 599 subjects in boys (21.0%) and 143 in girls (24.4%). Soft contact lens (SCL) and hard contact lens (HCL) use was 36.1% and 1.7%, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Dry eye disease leading to a clinical diagnosis or severe symptoms is prevalent in the studied Japanese private high school students. The condition is more prevalent among female subjects and CL wearers. Relevant measures directed against these risks could provide a positive impact on public health and quality of life of high school students.