Ocular surface health in Shanghai University students: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Our study aimed to investigate the ocular surface health of Shanghai University students. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study carried out among freshmen and sophomores on the main campus of Shanghai University. Questionnaires including the widely-used ocular surface disease index (OSDI) and the Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) were completed first, and then ocular examinations were conducted regarding height & weight, blood pressure and heart rate, optometry, intraocular pressure exam, vision and subjective refraction, Aladdin, Macular pigment density measurement, tear test, anterior segment examination, fundus photography, ophthalmologist check, TOPCON OCT check, and Collin’s fundus blood test. RESULTS: Totally 901 students were involved in our five-day study. The prevalence of myopia was 92% (the spherical equivalent refraction (SER) < − 0.50 D), and that of high myopia was 23% (SER < − 6.0D). The prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) was 10%. The corneal epithelial loss rate (corneal fluorescein staining > 1) was 10%, and corneal sensation decline rate (≤ 30 mm) was 12%. 4.5% of subjects (n = 40) had moderate or severe anxiety, 78% were mild and a small portion (17.5%) didn’t have anxiety at all. No statistical significant association was found between anxiety with DED, fluorescein staining or with corneal sensation (all p > 0.05). However, subjects with DED had more symptoms of anxiety. Results also showed that students who kept eye strain for a long time were more inclined to have DED (12.5%: 6.9%, p = 0.0407, 95% CI); those who watched mobile phones and/or computers for over eight hours daily were more vulnerable to DED and fluorescein staining than others (14.1%: 8.6%, p = 0.0129; 13.0%: 8.3%, p = 0.0233, 95% CI). CONCLUSIONS: Keeping eye strain or near work for a long time is associated with DED, while students with DED tend to encounter anxiety symptoms. The prevalence of myopia in Chinese university students is still high. We consider it necessary to provide education to university students about the good eye-using habits, and to diagnose anxiety for student patients with DED. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12886-018-0825-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.