The association between sleep duration and dry eye syndrome among Korean adults

Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between sleep duration and dry eye syndrome (DES) symptoms. Methods: We investigated 15,878 subjects (male = 6684; female = 9194) aged 20 years and older who underwent physical examinations and completed a self-report questionnaire and other anthropometric variables from the fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2010-2012. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for DES according to sleep duration were calculated using multiple logistic regression models. Results: Compared to that in an optimal sleep group (6-8 h/day), OR (95% CI) DES prevalence after adjusting for age, gender, sociodemographic factors (educational level, occupation, household income, and residence), and health behaviors (smoking habit, alcohol consumption, and level of exercise) was 1.20 (1.05-1.36) for a mild short sleep group (5 h/day) and 1.29 (1.08-1.55) for a severe short sleep group (≤4 h/day). Conclusion: Our results revealed that DES increased at shorter sleep durations.