Profil Penderita Digital Eye Strain (DES) di Kalangan Mahasiswa Pre-Klinik Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Sumatera Utara

Abstract

Background The increasing use of digital devices in everyday life impacts eye health. Digital Eye Strain (DES) is a collection of symptoms of eye and vision problems due to the use of digital devices. College students are known to be one of the groups with a high level of use of digital devices. Eye and vision disorders are known to cause interference with academic activities. Aim To determine the profile of DES sufferers among pre-clinical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of North Sumatra. Methods This research is a descriptive study with a cross-sectional approach. Samples were obtained using a random sampling method based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results The prevalence of DES among pre-clinical students was 62.9%, where DES was suffered more by women than men. The most common ocular symptoms were itching in the eyes (76.8%) and extraocular symptoms in the form of neck pain (75%). The most common risk factors for DES were: eye distance ≤50cm (81.7%), refractive disorders (69.2%), and digital screens not parallel to the eye's horizontal (67%). The habitual pattern of using preclinical student devices, namely: doing >2 activities with digital devices a day (70.1%), using devices for more than 6 hours/day (60.7%), and using more than 2 digital devices a day (32,1%). Conclusion This study shows a higher prevalence of DES in women. A number of risk factors and usage patterns were found that could cause DES among pre-clinical students at the Faculty of Medicine, University of North Sumatra.