Title : Daily artificial tears as a preventive measure for dry eye syndrome in medical students: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract:
Purpose: To determine the efficacy of the daily artificial tears usage as a dry eye syndrome prophylaxis among medical students, who are at increased risk due to lifestyle factors.
Methods: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) Guidelines. A comprehensive search through the PubMed, Web of Science and Medline databases was conducted to identify any studies exploring Dry Eye Disease (DED) in medical students, with a focus on various lifestyle factors like screen time, stress levels and quality of sleep. Moreover, we studied the effectiveness of daily artificial tear use in patients with dry eye symptoms using the relevant clinical trials and observational studies.
Results: Of 55 relevant studies, 10 studies enrolling medical students were included. It was shown that poor quality of sleep, increased screen time, higher psychological stress levels. Additionally, female students in early years of medical education were at the highest risk for dry eye syndrome. There was significant relief of dry eye symptoms within 1 month of regular artificial tears usage at least 4 times daily especially with lipomimetic and preservative free formulations.
Conclusions: We would recommend medical students to use preservative-free artificial tears daily to minimize the risks of DED or decrease the symptoms of dry eye. However, adherence poses a significant challenge, as regular use may be difficult to maintain due to the high academic demands and the increased screen time associated with studying. Of course, this method will not eliminate the root causes of dry eye in this population, such as prolonged screen exposure and environmental factors, but they at least can provide symptomatic relief and improve the overall comfort of students. The most effective results in management of DED would be seen in combination with lifestyle modification.
