Posters

The ophthalmic effects of increasing air pollution in national capital of India

Poster Details

First Author: T.Johri INDIA

Co Author(s): D. Singh   V. Saini                 

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To study the effect of outdoor environmental pollution on ocular surface and to analyze the relation between subjective symptoms and objective tests.

Setting:

The study was conducted in patients attending OPD of Dr. Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rohini, Delhi, India from the month of March 2018 till August 2018. It is a tertiary care hospital catering to both urban and rural population.

Methods:

A Cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 108 eyes of apparently healthy volunteers of age group 20-50 years and were divided into Group1 (indoor occupation) and Group2 (outdoor occupation). The ethical clearance was taken from the hospital ethical committee, after which all subjects underwent detailed history and examination and tests, namely, Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, tear film break-up time(TBUT), schirmer's test-1(ST-1), conjunctival scraping cytology(SC), tear ferning test(TFT) and conjunctival impression cytology(CIC) for goblet cell density(GCD).

Results:

The mean OSDI in Group2(20.99±5.63) was higher than Group1(14.05±6.89)(p<0.001), while mean TBUT was lower in Group2(6.84±3.71 seconds) as compared to Group1(12.44±5.33 seconds)(p=0.010). The mean ST-1 was lower in Group2(14.24±5.58millimetres) than Group1(17.90±8.43 millimetres)(p=0.008). The mean TFT grade was higher in Group2(1.86±0.93) than Group1(1.46±0.65)(p=0.011). The mean average GCD in Group 2(464.40±65.50 cells/millimetre2) was lower than Group1(523.80±122.76cells/millimetre 2 )(p=0.003). The correlation coefficient between OSDI and TBUT in Group1 was -0.625(p<0.001) and in Group2 was -0.389(p=0.003). The correlation coefficient between OSDI and ST-1 was -0.636 in Group1(p<0.001) and -0.332 in Group2(p=0.011).

Conclusions:

The mean PM 2.5 level in the place of study was 302 which is 10 times the normal limit, signifying a substantial exposure to pollution in outdoor workers. Exposure to outdoor environmental pollution adversely affects the tear film and ocular surface. A significant correlation exists between subjective symptoms and objective tests. Our study signifies the urgent need for eye health education and legislative norms to control environmental pollution in the society.

Financial Disclosure:

None