Reducing Short-Wavelength Blue Light in Dry Eye Patients with Unstable Tear Film Improves Performance on Tests of Visual Acuity

PLoS One. 2016 Apr 5;11(4):e0152936. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152936. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate whether suppression of blue light can improve visual function in patients with short tear break up time (BUT) dry eye (DE).

Methods: Twenty-two patients with short BUT DE (10 men, 12 women; mean age, 32.4 ± 6.4 years; age range, 23-43 years) and 18 healthy controls (10 men, 8 women; mean age, 30.1 ± 7.4 years; age range, 20-49 years) underwent functional visual acuity (VA) examinations with and without wearing eyeglasses with 50% blue light blocked lenses. The functional VA parameters were starting VA, functional VA, and visual maintenance ratio.

Results: The baseline mean values (logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution, logMAR) of functional VA and the visual maintenance ratio were significantly worse in the DE patients than in the controls (P < 0.05), while no significant difference was observed in the baseline starting VA (P > 0.05). The DE patients had significant improvement in mean functional VA and visual maintenance ratio while wearing the glasses (P < 0.05), while there were no significant changes with and without the glasses in the control group (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Protecting the eyes from short-wavelength blue light may help to ameliorate visual impairment associated with tear instability in patients with DE. This finding represents a new concept, which is that the blue light exposure might be harmful to visual function in patients with short BUT DE.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Dry Eye Syndromes / diagnosis
  • Dry Eye Syndromes / physiopathology*
  • Dry Eye Syndromes / therapy*
  • Eyeglasses*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Light* / adverse effects
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Tears*
  • Visual Acuity*
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

This study was supported by a grant from the Medical School Faculty and Alumni Grants of Keio University Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. Keio University School of Medicine also provided support in the form of salaries for authors M. Kawashima, YK, and KT. Wada Eye Clinic provided support in the form of salaries for author M. Kaito. Minamiaoyama Eye Clinic provided support in the form of salaries for authors IT and TO. Kowa Co., Ltd. Japan and JINS Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan provided a monetary grant for research unrelated to the current study to the Department of Ophthalmology of Keio University School of Medicine. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.