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Staringatscreensalldaylinkedtochangesin
eyesecretions
Mon,Jun162014
ByKathrynDoyle
NEWYORK(ReutersHealth)Officeworkerswhospendlonghours
lookingatcomputerscreenshavechangesintheirtearfluidsimilarto
peoplewiththediseaseknownasdryeye,accordingtoastudyfrom
Japan.
TheproteinMUC5AC,secretedbycellsintheuppereyelid,makesuppart
ofthenormallyoccurringmucuslayer,ortearfilm,thatkeepstheeye
moist.ButstudyparticipantswiththemostscreentimehadMUC5AClevels
nearingthoseofpeoplewithdiagnoseddryeye.
Tounderstandpatients'eyestrain,whichisoneofmajorsymptomsofdry
eyedisease,itisimportantthatophthalmologistpayattentiontoMUC5AC
concentrationintears,saidDr.YuichiUchino,anauthorofthenewstudy.
UchinoisanophthalmologistattheSchoolofMedicineatKeioUniversityinTokyo.
Whenwestareatcomputers,ourblinkingtimesdecreasedcomparedtoreadingabookatthetable,hetoldReutersHealth
byemail.
Peoplestaringatscreensalsotendtoopentheireyelidswiderthanwhiledoingothertasks,andtheextraexposedsurface
areainadditiontoinfrequentblinkingcanacceleratetearevaporationandisassociatedwithdryeyedisease,hesaid.
Dryeyemaybechronicforsomebutcanbemanagedwithoverthecounterorprescriptioneyedrops.
Pastresearchsuggeststhatupto5millionmenandwomenoverage50intheUnitedStatessufferfromdryeyedisease,the
researcherswriteintheirreport.InJapan,tensofmillionsofpeoplereportsomedryeyesymptoms,oftenassociatedwith
computerwork,theyadd.
Thestudyteamtestedthetearsfrombotheyesof96Japaneseofficeworkers,abouttwothirdsofthemmen,andmeasured
howmuchofthetotalproteincontentofthetearswasMUC5AC.
Workersemployedinjobsinvolvingcomputerscreensfilledoutquestionnairesabouttheirworkinghoursandsymptomsof
anyeyeproblems.
Sevenpercentofmenand14percentofwomenwerediagnosedwithdryeyedisease,meaningtheyreportedsymptomsof
eyeproblemslikeirritation,burningorblurredvisionandhadpoorqualityorquantityoftearfilm,accordingtothetests.
Overall,participantslookedatscreensforworkforjustovereighthoursadayandhadanaverageofabout6.8nanogramsof
MUC5ACpermilligramofproteinineacheye.
However,peoplewhoworkedwithcomputerscreensformorethansevenhoursperdayhadanaverageof5.9ng/mgof
MUC5AC,comparedto9.6ng/mgforpeoplewhospentfewerthanfivehoursdailywithscreens.
Similarly,peoplewithdefinitedryeyediseasehadanaverageof3.5ng/mgofMUC5ACcomparedto8.2ng/mgforpeople
withoutthedisease.
Mucinisoneofthemostimportantcomponentsofthetearfilm,saidDr.YuichiHori,whowasnotapartofthenewstudy.
Mucins(likeMUC5AC)functiontoholdwaterontheocularsurfaceoftheepitheliathatsynthesizethem,hence,theyare
majorplayersinmaintenanceofthetearfilmontheocularsurface,HoritoldReutersHealthbyemail.
HeischairofthedepartmentofOphthalmologyatTohoUniversityOmoriMedicalCenterinTokyo.
Concentrationoftheproteinwasalsolowerforpeoplewithsymptomsofeyestrainthanforpeoplewithoutsymptoms,
accordingtotheresultspublishedinJAMAOphthalmology.
Peoplewithdryeyesatworktendtobelessproductiveandaremorelikelytobedepressed,accordingtopreviousstudies,
Uchinosaid.
Officeworkerswhoareworriedaboutdryeyecanmakesomesimplechangestodecreasetheirrisk,Uchinosaid.
Theexposedocularsurfaceareacanbedecreasedbyplacingtheterminalatalowerheight,withthescreentiltedupward,
Uchinosaid.
Doctorsalsorecommendusingahumidifierattheofficeandavoidingbeinginthedirectpathofthewindfromanair
6/17/2014 Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USKBN0ER2HG20140616 2/2
conditioner,hesaid.
Weadvisetheofficeworkerssufferingfromocularfatigueanddryeyesymptomsthattheyshouldblinkmorefrequentlyinan
intendedmannerduring(screenuse),andthattheyshoulduseartificialtears,Horisaid.
Andtheyshouldaskaneyecaredoctoriftheirsymptomsstillremain.
SOURCE:bit.ly/1oTQ4ovJAMAOphthalmology,June5,2014.
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