Computer Vision Syndrome in Medical Students in a Teaching Hospital a Cross sectional Observational Study

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought about a change in the teaching–learning pattern as most schools and teaching institutions were closed; students from kindergarden to professional degree were forced to resort to online platforms. As a result, the number of hours spent on an average by every student in front of a video display unit (VDU) has increased severalfolds. Due to this, the prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS) among students has grown. Aims: The aim of the study was to find the association of screen time with dry eye disease (DED) in medical students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional observational study conducted at Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Medical College and Hospital, Sangli. For a duration of 18 months (January 2021 to July 2022), this study involved 600 students. Convenient sampling was used on all Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery students of the institute fulfilling inclusion criteria and willing to participate was subjected to a pro forma related to DED, followed by thorough ophthalmic workup for DED was done which included best-corrected visual acuity, intraocular pressure, tear film breakup time, Schirmer’s 1 and 2 test, and tear meniscus height. Statistical Analysis Used: IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 24.0. Chi-square test was used. P <0.001 was considered significant. Results: There was a significant association between duration of screen time and symptoms ( P < 0.001), the most common symptom was dryness (41.3%). All students having a duration of screen time of 8 and above hours had at least one symptom. There was a significant association between VDU usage and severity of DED ( P < 0.001). Twenty-three (4.5%) students having VDU usage of 8 and above hours had severe DED and 7 (1.4%) students having VDU usage of 0–2 h had mild DED. Conclusion: Increased screen exposure has resulted in an increased dryness and an increase in symptoms in the student. During COVID-19, most of the undergraduate curriculum was completed by conducting online classes which added to the overall time spent on VDU. By making certain changes in the usage of VDU and following 20-20-20 rule, one can bring down the incidence of CVS.