Is low physical activity linked to dry eye disease?

Individuals with low physical activity (PA) levels may be at an increased risk for developing dry eye disease (DED), although screen use was noted as a possible confounder of this study.

In this cross-sectional study, data from 48,418 participants from the population-based Lifelines cohort was used to assess the relationship between sedentary behavior (SB) and DED. Potential modifying effects of PA and sedentary behavior independent from screen exposure were also investigated.

Overall, 9.1% of participants had DED. Greater SB was associated with an increased risk of DED, although it was only significant in participants who had less than the World Health Organization recommended level of PA.

There was no significant relationship between SB and DED when computer-related sitting was excluded.

Reference
Nguyen L, Magno MS, Utheim TP, et al. The relationship between sedentary behavior and dry eye disease. Ocul Surf. 2023;28:11-17. doi: 10.1016/j.jtos.2023.01.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36621639.