Daily Wear of Eyeglasses and Susceptibility to COVID-19
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowImportance
The proportion of daily wearers of eyeglasses among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is small, and the association between daily wear of eyeglasses and COVID-19 susceptibility has not been reported.
Objective
To study the association between the daily wearing of eyeglasses and the susceptibility to COVID-19.
Design, Setting, and Participants
This cohort study enrolled all inpatients with COVID-19 in Suizhou Zengdu Hospital, Suizhou, China, a designated hospital for COVID-19 treatment in the area, from January 27 to March 13, 2020. COVID-19 was diagnosed according to the fifth edition of Chinese COVID-19 diagnostic guidelines. The proportion of persons with myopia who wore eyeglasses in Hubei province was based on data from a previous study.
Exposures
Daily wearing of eyeglasses for more than 8 hours.
Main Outcomes and Measures
The main outcomes were the proportions of daily wearers of eyeglasses among patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 and among the local population. Data on exposure history, clinical symptoms, underlying diseases, duration of wearing glasses, and myopia status and the proportion of people with myopia who wore eyeglasses in Hubei province were collected. People who wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day were defined as long-term wearers.
Results
A total of 276 patients with COVID-19 were enrolled. Of these, 155 (56.2%) were male, and the median age was 51 (interquartile range, 41-58) years. All those who wore glasses for more than 8 hours a day had myopia and included 16 of 276 patients (5.8%; 95% CI, 3.04%-8.55%). The proportion of people with myopia in Hubei province, based on a previous study, was 31.5%, which was much higher than the proportion of patients with COVID-19 who had myopia in this sample.
Conclusions and Relevance
In this cohort study of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Suizhou, China, the proportion of inpatients with COVID-19 who wore glasses for extended daily periods (>8 h/d) was smaller than that in the general population, suggesting that daily wearers of eyeglasses may be less susceptible to COVID-19.
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Additional Info
Association of Daily Wear of Eyeglasses With Susceptibility to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Infection
JAMA Ophthalmol 2020 Sep 16;[EPub Ahead of Print], W Zeng, X Wang, J Li, Y Yang, X Qiu, P Song, J Xu, Y WeiFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
This article is relevant to dermatologists! Among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in this Chinese study, the proportion of daily wearers of eyeglasses for >8 hours per day was lower (5.8%) than the proportion of daily glasses wearers found in the general local population (31.5%). The authors believe that daily wearers of eyeglasses may be less susceptible to COVID-19 infection. Dermatologists, much like ophthalmologists and ENT physicians, are often "up close and personal" with our patients and find ourselves face-to-face with many patients during a typical clinic day. Regular use of eyewear could be easily implemented for healthcare providers and staff to potentially decrease the risk of contracting COVID-19.