Symptomatic dry eye disease and associated factors among postgraduate students in Ethiopia

Background Symptomatic dry eye disease is a growing public health challenge especially among those who are visual display unit (VDU) users and other long-time near activity workers. Globally, computer user adults experience a surge in the prevalence of dry eye. Data is insufficient on the prevalence of dry eye disease among postgraduate students in Ethiopia. Therefore, the present was aimed to assess the prevalence of dry eye and its associated factors among postgraduate students at the University of Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 423 postgraduate students who were selected based on a simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through online symptom-based ocular surface disease index questionnaire. Binary logistic regression was used to test the association and p-value of <0.05 was considered to determine the significance of the association. Results From the total postgraduate students, 404 completed the study with a response rate of 95.5%. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye disease was 50.5% (95% CI, 45.1%54.9%). Average continuous visual display unit use for 2-4hours per day[AOR = 2.57 (95% CI, 1.27-5.21)] and for> 4hours per day[AOR = 3.77 (95% CI 1.87-7.59)], duration of visual display unit use for 3-5 years [AOR = 2.24 (95% CI, 1.17-4.31)], 6-8 years [AOR = 2.46 (95% CI,1.31-4.62)] and > 8 years [AOR = 3.25 (95% CI, 1.63-6.48)], average sleeping hour < 7 hours/day within last week [AOR = 2.17 (95% CI, 1.35-3.49)] and current known allergic conjunctivitis [AOR = 5.42 (95% CI, 2.43-12.10)] were significantly associated with symptomatic dry eye disease. Conclusion and recommendation In this study, about half of postgraduate students faced symptomatic dry eye disease. Significant association was observed between symptomatic dry eye disease and average continuous hours of visual display unit use, duration of visual display unit use in years, shortage of sleep and current known allergic conjunctivitis. It is advisable for postgraduate students to limit screen exposure hour and establish regular breaking time along their exposure. It is also advisable to have optimum sleep as possible. It is also important to explore dry eye disease on a large sample incorporating clinical tests.