Frequency of asthenopia symptoms among tailors of Rawalpindi: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Introduction: Textile experts perform extensive close labor in small, densely packed workstations, exposing themselves to a variety of ocular and vision-related issues. Objectives:  To find the frequency of asthenopic symptoms among tailors and to associate their asthenopia with their working environment profile which includes many factors such as lighting conditions, position blubs, working hours, working days, and taking breaks during work. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted over five months from October 2018 to February 2019 and it included 325 sewing professionals of garments (tailors) from the tailoring market of Rawalpindi. Study subjects were interviewed through a structured questionnaire that included demographic, working profiles, and symptoms of asthenopia. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 21. The Chi-square test was used to check the association of dependent and independent variables. Results: A total of 325 subjects were included in this study. In the current study total of 48% of the asthenopia is present in tailors. Almost every patient presented with more than one complaint. The most frequent asthenopic symptoms were headache 54.5% followed by watering of the eyes 44.6% and blurriness of vision 44.3%. A significant association was found between asthenopia and lighting conditions with a p-value of 0.01. The working days and spectacle-wearing were also significantly associated with asthenopia. Conclusion: This study showed a relatively high frequency of asthenopia among subjects and it is strongly associated with the lighting conditions and working hours of the subjects.