Unraveling the relationship between childhood dry eye symptoms and sleep patterns.

OBJECTIVE

Given the increasing incidence of dry eye in children and the established role of sleep as a key health determinant, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of dry eye in children and its association with sleep, adjusting for confounders.

METHOD: This study included 169,080 children aged 6-12 years. Dry eye syndromes (DEs) were assessed using the 5-Item Dry Eye Questionnaire, whereas sleep quality was evaluated using the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. Logistic and linear regression analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Overall, 13.12% of the children exhibited DEs, and 66.25% experienced poor sleep. Children with poor sleep quality had a significantly higher prevalence of DEs (15.97%, 17,889/112,018) than those with normal sleep quality (7.53%, 4296/57,062) (P < 0.001). The prevalence of poor sleep was 80.64% (17,889/22,185) in children with DEs, compared to 64.08% (94,129/146,895) in those without DEs (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, body mass index, and other risk factors, poor sleepers had a higher risk of developing DEs than good sleepers (odds ratio [OR] = 2.005; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.933-2.080). Children who slept for < 10 h were more likely to have DEs (OR = 1.236l; 95% CI: 1.167-1.310). In logistic regression analyses stratified by age and sex, poor sleepers showed a high risk of DEs. Moreover, the three dry eye symptoms and sleep were related (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

This large-scale study revealed that all domains of sleep were significantly poorer in participants with DEs in children, and these associations remained significant after adjusting for comorbidities.