The frequency of symptoms of computer vision syndrome among medical college students in Islamabad.

Abstract

Objectives: Indiscriminate use of computers has increased during the present fast-paced age, and this technology misuse has negatively affected many users. This study aimed to determine the presence of the symptoms of computer vision syndrome and to assess the pattern of computer usage in medical college students. Study Design: Descriptive Cross-sectional study. Settings: Foundation University Medical College, Islamabad, among the MBBS students. Period: From March till August 2018. Material & Methods: A total of 240 conveniently selected medical students took part in this cross-sectional study and filled a pretested self-administered questionnaire, during a six month duration. Ethical consideration was taken, and unwilling students or those with ocular, muscular and general diseases were excluded. Results: A majority of participants 181(75.4%) were females, rest 24.58% were males. The mean age was 21 yrs with SD of 1.6 yrs. A dominant number,170 (70.8%) experienced  sore/strained eyes followed by watering of eyes,128 ( 53.3%),and blurred distant vision,121 (50.4%), pain 42.9%,redness 40.8%, dryness 33.8%, blurred near vision 29.2%, burning eyes sensation 42.9%,twitching of eyelids 35%,double vision 24.2%. Headache was experienced by178 ( 74.2%) participants, followed by backache in 137( 57.1%) students, due to overuse of computer(significant at a p value of 0.01).About 62.5% were not using antiglare screens, or frequent blinking method (56.7%) as a means of  protection. Conclusion: A majority of the study population had been using computers for less than 5 yrs, giving adequate breaks during the day, yet they were experiencing symptoms of CVS like sore/strained eyes and headache as a consequence of regular computer usage.   Most of them were not taking protective measures during computer work.