Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Oct 18;6(5):718-22.
doi: 10.3980/j.issn.2222-3959.2013.05.31. eCollection 2013.

Prevalence of asthenopia and its risk factors in Chinese college students

Cheng-Cheng Han  1 , Rong Liu, Ru-Ru Liu, Zhong-Hai Zhu, Rong-Bin Yu, Le Ma
Affiliations

Prevalence of asthenopia and its risk factors in Chinese college students

Cheng-Cheng Han et al. Int J Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Aim: To determine the prevalence of asthenopia and identify any associated risk factors in the college students in Xi'an, China.

Methods: From April to September 2012, 1 500 students from five universities in Xi'an were selected according to a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling method. Data on demographic features, lifestyle or dietary habits, health status, living environment conditions, sleep and mental status, and asthenopia symptoms were collected through a self-administered validated questionnaire. Univariate logistic regression and multivariate logistic regression analysis modified by the factor analysis were performed to evaluate risk factors for asthenopia.

Results: Fifty-seven percent of the college students complained of asthenopia. Statistically significant risk factors for asthenopia in the univariate analysis included 13 variables. Multivariate analysis revealed a significant relationship between the use of computer and asthenopia (OR 1.21, 95%CI: 1.09 to 1.35). Good sleep and mental status (OR 0.86, 95%CI: 0.76 to 0.97), good living environment conditions (OR 0.67, 95%CI: 0.60 to 0.76), and high intake of green leafy vegetables (OR 0.89, 95%CI: 0.80 to 0.98) were found to be strong predictors of decreasing the occurrence of asthenopia complaints.

Conclusion: Asthenopia symptom appears to be common among college students; and it is strongly associated with computer use, psychosocial state, environment conditions and dietary habits, suggesting that additional studies are warranted to verify these risk factors and establish prevention guidelines, especially for college students.

Keywords: asthenopia; college student; epidemiological feature; risk factor.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Gowrisankaran S, Nahar NK, Hayes JR, Sheedy JE. Asthenopia and blink rate under visual and cognitive loads. Optom Vis Sci. 2012;89(1):97–104. - PubMed
    1. Bhanderi DJ, Choudhary S, Doshi VG. A community-based study of asthenopia in computer operators. Indian J Ophthalmol. 2008;56(1):51–55. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Thorud HM, Helland M, Aarås A, Kvikstad TM, Lindberg LG, Horgen G. Eye-related pain induced by visually demanding computer work. Optom Vis Sci. 2012;89(4):E452–E464. - PubMed
    1. Pointer JS, Gilmartin B. Clinical characteristics of unilateral myopic anisometropia in a juvenile optometric practice population. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt. 2004;24(5):458–463. - PubMed
    1. Agarwal S, Goel D, Sharma A. Evaluation of the factors which contribute to the ocular complaints in computer users. J Clin Diagn Res. 2013;7(2):331–335. - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources