Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) in Japanese visual display terminal (VDT) workers and identify simple methods for screening DED during occupational health examinations.

Methods: This study involved 369 (331 men and 38 women; mean age, 44.4 [8.8] years) workers engaged in PC development with approximately 6 hours of VDT use daily. The participants completed questionnaires on dry eye and physical symptoms affecting QoL, and their ability to keep their eyes open for 10 seconds was tested for DED screening. They also underwent assessment of conjunctival and corneal vital staining with lissamine green and fluorescein, measurement of tear film breakup time, and Schirmer's test for DED diagnosis. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value of the screening methods were assessed.

Results: The DED group included 218 (definite, 14; probable, 204) participants. They had markedly high frequencies of 11 dry eye symptoms, especially ocular fatigue (OR, 17.1; 95% CI, 9.9 to 29.7) and dry sensation (OR, 8.2; 95% CI, 3.6 to 18.4), and were more often unable to keep their eyes open for 10 s. With either ocular fatigue or dry sensation as the cutoff criterion, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value were 89.9, 66.9, and 79.7%, respectively.

Conclusions: Approximately 60% of the VDT workers were diagnosed with DED on the basis of diverse eye symptoms affecting their ability to work. The dry eye symptom questionnaire and 10-s eye-opening test are simple, noninvasive, and inexpensive methods for screening DED during occupational health examinations.