ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Black Smoke and Sulphur Dioxide in the Air
as Risk Factors for Dry Eye Disease
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School of Medicine, University of Nis, Serbia
Submission date: 2018-04-17
Acceptance date: 2018-05-28
Online publication date: 2019-01-23
Publication date: 2019-03-01
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2019;28(4):2381-2388
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ABSTRACT
The purpose was to study the effect of long-term exposure to ambient air pollution on the prevalence
of dry eye disease (DED) among women. A total of 1356 women, who were recruited in two locations,
with different levels of black smoke and sulphur dioxide from the city of Nis were examined to establish
the prevalence of DED. A 13-point questionnaire, Tear film break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer's test and
Rose Bengal test were used to diagnose dry eye. The univariate and multivariate regression analysis
were used to investigate the relationship between long-tem exposure of air pollution and DED adjusted
for potential confounding factors (age, passive smoking, keeping of pets, home dampness and use of
biomass fuels). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated significant associations between
the presence of DED and exposure to outdoor air pollution (OR = 1.92, 95% CI 1.47-2.52, p<0.001) and
passive smoking (OR = 1.13, 95%CI 1.04-1.64, p<0.001). According to our study, exposure to outdoor air
pollution of black smoke and sulphur dioxide appear to have a very significant effect on the occurrence
of DED at women.