Association of digital eye strain with central corneal thickness: a cross-sectional observational pilot study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate whether the digital eye strain (DES) was associated with the low central corneal thickness (CCT).

METHODS

This observational cross-sectional pilot study was conducted from April 2023 to October 2023 at a tertiary eye care centre in North India, where CCT values were compared between subjects with DES and those without DES. Two hundred and eighty subjects (n = 280) aged 15-40 years with clear corneas and lenses were initially included in this study. Those with corneal opacity, corneal degeneration, pregnancy, and diabetes were excluded. These subjects were then assessed with a 'computer vision syndrome questionnaire (CVS-Q)' test. Participants having a score ≥ 6 were grouped as the "DES group" and participants having a score < 6 were grouped as the "Control group". The participants from each group were then examined with Spectral Domain Ocular Coherence Tomography (SD-OCT) to measure CCT. The primary outcome was to evaluate the comparative difference in CCT values between the two groups as well as the association of DES with CCT values.

RESULTS

The study included one hundred and forty (n = 140) subjects each in the DES group and the control group. The DES score assessed with the CVS-Q questionnaire ranged from 6 to 32 in the DES group, with a mean ± SD of 17.08 ± 7.01. The overall mean CCT was 507.31 ± 31.01 (median, 512 microns; range, 450-601 microns). There was a significant difference in the mean CCT between the two groups, with lower mean CCT values in the DES group (487.76 ± 23.61 microns) than the control group (526.87 ± 24.53 microns) (p < 0.0001). The CVS-Q test score had moderate inverse correlation in the DES group (Pearson's r = - 0.42, p < 0.01) and negligible correlation (Pearson's r = - 0.14, p = 0.12) in the control group with CCT.

CONCLUSION

Central corneal thickness was observed to be reduced among the subjects with digital eye strain (DES).