A Risk Factor for Everyone: Digital Device Use

Dr. Donaldson: As we touch on so many health factors that make dry eye more prevalent among women, we have to mention one factor that affects both sexes equally: digital device use. It is such an enormous risk factor in developing dry eye or exacerbating an existing problem.

Dr. Epitropoulos: We don’t blink as often as we normally do while we’re staring at our smartphones, tablets, or computer screens. In fact, the blink rate goes from 15-16 blinks per minute to just 5-6 blinks per minute.^1,2 We know that meibum is naturally secreted into the tear film via the blinking mechanism, so clearly this pervasive, unconscious reduction in blinking deeply impacts meibum secretion and tear film quality. These patients with evaporative dry eye disease and MGD tend to have an inadequate lipid layer and an unstable tear film.

Dry eye is now the number one reason that patients see their eye doctor, and we attribute this, in part, to the demand on our eyes from digital technology. Frequent use of electronic devices for work, communication, and entertainment is changing the face of dry eye to include younger, healthier patients. It is now a disease that permeates society as a whole; however, women are disproportionately affected by this potentially debilitating chronic condition.

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