Objective To examine the prevalence of and factors associated with dry eye syndrome (DES) in community residents in Shenyang city for providing evidences to interventions on DES incidence.
Methods We conducted an eye examination and a questionnaire survey on symptoms of and medical history relevant to DES among 1 869 residents aged 8 – 90 years in communities selected with stratified random sampling in five districts of Shenyang city in May 2017.
Results Among the participants, totally 450 DES patients were diagnosed and the prevalence rate of DES was 25.15%. Multivariate unconditional logistic regression analysis revealed that the risk factors for DES included being a student/teacher/civil servant, engaged in outdoor work, wearing contact lenses for more than 8 hours per day, and suffering from diabetes; while the protective factors against DES included with arthritis and watching display screen of cell phone, computer, or television set for less than 6 hours per day.
Conclusion Occupation, time of wearing contact lenses wear per day, time of watching screen of cell phone, computer, or television set per day, and suffering from diabetes or arthritis are major influencing factors of dry eye syndrome among community residents of Shenyang city.