Assessment of visual function and Vision-related Quality of Life in female contact lens wearers with Dry Eye Syndrome

PURPOSE: To assess visual function and Vision-related Quality of Life (VRQOL) in female contact lens wearers with Dry Eye Syndrome in Riyadh city, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This was a cross sectional study. Saudi Females subjects with and without DES (contact lens wearer [CLW] and Non-contact lens wearers [NCLW]) aged between 16 and 35 years were included in this study. Subjects were recruited from female campus at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, KSA. Measurements include corneal topography, visual acuity (VA), autorefraction, contrast sensitivity (CS), Schirmer's test and Tear breakup test (TBUT) were performed on all subjects. In addition, corneal thickness was measured using Pentacam HR to compare between the total corneal thickness (TCT) in DES and Non-DES groups. Contact Lens Impact on Quality of Life (CLIQ) Questionnaire was used to assess VRQOL. Visual functions and VRQOL were compared between groups (contact lens (CL) and NCLW) using SPSS program version 23 (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Illinois, USA). RESULTS: A total of 100 subjects with DES (n = 44 including 25 CLW and 19 NCLW), and non-DES (n = 56 including 17 CLW and 39 NCLW) were included in this study. The mean age of participants with DES was 21.39 years and was 20.96 years of participants Non-DES. There were no significant different in VA, CS, and TCT between subjects DES and Non-DES (P > 0.05), which indicates that dryness have no effect on the visual function and TCT. Contact lens wearers had higher score on convince, economic and psychological items than NCLW. Within CL group, subjects with DES had higher score on convince and psychological items. Similarly, within DES group, subjects who wore CL had higher score on convince and psychological items. CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence that dryness may has no effect on visual function in both CLW and NCLW. Psychological and convenience domains of VRQOL were negatively affect in Saudi female patients with DES specially who wear CL.