The Relationship Between Circadian Typology and Dry Eye Symptoms in Chinese College Students

Chao Yan,* Ao Li,* Yiran Hao, Xiaozhao Zhang, Yihan Guo, Yixuan Gu, Yinghui Wang, Ya Wen, Lei Tian, Ying Jie Beijing Institute of Ophthalmology, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ying Jie; Lei Tian, Tel +86-13693572296 ; +86-18600166885, Fax +861058265900, Email jie_yingcn@aliyun.com; tianlei0131@163.comPurpose: To explore the relationship between symptomatic dry eye and circadian typology in college students.Methods: This study included 269 students from 3 Chinese universities. All participants completed the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire, the morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ), and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) questionnaire. Participants were grouped into 3 types by the reduced MEQ (rMEQ) score:E-Type, N-Type, and M-Type. All these parameters were then analyzed for the effect on the severity of dry eye.Results: The occurrence rates of poor sleep quality (PSQI> 5) and symptomatic dry eye (OSDI > 13) in the college students were 53.2% and 40.2%, respectively. The distribution of the circadian typology differed significantly among the college students with different dry eye severities (χ2 = 59.44, P = 0. 000), and E-type was associated with the most severe dry eye symptoms. The OSDI and PSQI scores were both significantly different among college students with different chronotypes (F = 22.14, P = 0.000; F = 15.21, P = 0.000; respectively). For both scores, the E-type scored the highest, followed by N-type, and M-type was the lowest. The circadian typology was an independent factor for dry eye. The risk of E-Type was 6.99 times higher than that of M-Type (P = 0.000), and the risk of N-types was 3.23 times higher than that of M-Type (P = 0.000). Sleep quality was also an independent risk factor for dry eye (P = 0.000). Gender and awareness of dry eye were not risk factors for dry