| Sumario: | Background: Digital device use has increased, especially for work and school activities, and with that has come increased reports of digital eyestrain. There is rising interest in the use of blue light-blocking (BB) filters to reduce digital eyestrain symptoms. However, current research is unclear about the benefits. This study assessed the effects of commercially available BB and/or antireflective (AR) coatings on eye movements, reading rate, and subjective assessments of digital eyestrain symptoms. Methods: Twenty-eight emmetropic/contact lens-corrected subjects (ages 22-31 years old; 10 male, 18 female) completed pursuit, saccade, and fixation assessments via the RightEye Dynamic Vision test while wearing un-tinted BB, AR, BB/AR, and control (coating-free) lenses in a randomized order. They then completed a 20-minute reading task while wearing each of the lenses and filled out an eyestrain symptom questionnaire. Results: Pursuits were significantly different between the control and AR lenses (pursuits p=0.04, control/AR pursuits p=0.02). Saccades and fixations were not significantly different between the control and any of the treatment lens options (saccades p=0.10, fixations p=0.72). Similarly, there was no significant percent change in the reading rate for any of the treatments relative to the control (p=0.44). The subjective eyestrain symptom survey found statistically insignificant differences in score for each of the questioned symptoms (p>0.05). Conclusion: No evidence was found to support claims that BB filters with or without AR coat or AR coats alone will improve digital eyestrain symptoms after short-term reading tasks. This finding is consistent with other studies using the same symptom questionnaire. Additionally, no support was found for these filters and coatings to alter clinically significant eye movements or to change reading rate significantly.
|
|---|