- lifestyle report
TFOS Lifestyle: Impact of contact lenses on the ocular surface
Lyndon Jones a,*, Nathan Efron b, Kalika Bandamwar c, Melissa Barnett d, Deborah S. Jacobs e, Isabelle Jalbert f, Heiko Pult g, Michelle K. Rhee h, Heather Sheardown i, Joseph P. Shovlin j, Ulli Stahl a, Adriana Stanila k, Jacqueline Tan f, Silvia Tavazzi l, Omur O. Ucakhan m, Mark D.P. Willcox f, Laura E. Downie n
a Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE), School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada, b School of Optometry and Vision Science, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, Australia, c Department of Ophthalmology, New Zealand National Eye Centre, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand, d University of California, Davis Eye Center, Sacramento, CA, USA, e Massachusetts Eye & Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, f School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney, NSW, Australia, g Dr Heiko Pult Optometry & Vision Research, Weinheim, Germany, h Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA, i Department of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, j Northeastern Eye Institute, Scranton, PA, USA, k Ofta Total Clinic, Sibiu, Romania, l Department of Materials Science, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy, m Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey, n Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Contact lens
Dropout
Dry eye
Environment
Lifestyle choice
Non-compliance
Ocular health
Ocular surgery
Quality of life
Systematic review
ABSTRACT
Several lifestyle choices made by contact lens wearers can have adverse consequences on ocular health. These include being non-adherent to contact lens care, sleeping in lenses, ill-advised purchasing options, not seeing an eyecare professional for regular aftercare visits, wearing lenses when feeling unwell, wearing lenses too soon after various forms of ophthalmic surgery, and wearing lenses when engaged in risky behaviors (e.g., when using tobacco, alcohol or recreational drugs). Those with a pre-existing compromised ocular surface may find that contact lens wear exacerbates ocular disease morbidity. Conversely, contact lenses may have various therapeutic benefits. The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impinged upon the lifestyle of contact lens wearers, introducing challenges such as mask-associated dry eye, contact lens discomfort with increased use of digital devices, inadvertent exposure to hand sanitizers, and reduced use of lenses. Wearing contact lenses in challenging environments, such as in the presence of dust and noxious chemicals, or where there is the possibility of ocular trauma (e.g., sport or working with tools) can be problematic, although in some instances lenses can be protective. Contact lenses can be worn for sport, theatre, at high altitude, driving at night, in the military and in space, and special considerations are required when prescribing in such situations to ensure successful outcomes. A systematic review and meta-analysis, incorporated within the review, identified that the influence of lifestyle factors on soft contact lens dropout remains poorly understood, and is an area in need of further research. Overall, this report investigated lifestyle-related choices made by clinicians and contact lens wearers and discovered that when appropriate lifestyle choices are made, contact lens wear can enhance the quality of life of wearers.
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