Assessment of tear break-up time in tobacco-using students aged 18 to 30 at the Universidad del Desarrollo in 2022

Abstract

Introduction: The high incidence of tobacco use among young people and persistent exposure to smoke at eye level can cause tear film instability compared to non-users. Objective: To describe the relationship between tear film break-up time in a group of students aged 18 to 30 at the Universidad del Desarrollo in 2022 who were tobacco users, compared to non-users in the same year and at the same university. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 32 participants, measuring tear film break-up time. Two groups were formed, one of tobacco users and one of non-users. Among the users, the variables of length of tobacco use and number of cigarettes consumed per day were measured. Results: The Break Up Time test values were significantly lower in tobacco-using students than in the non-user group (Prob F of 0.0). The variable of the number of cigarettes per day was significant (Prob F of 0.4) between the group that consumed less than 3 cigarettes per day and the group that consumed more than this amount; however, the months of consumption of the participants (Prob F of 0.9) were not significant between the two groups studied. Conclusion: It was determined that, in the study population, there is indeed a shorter tear film break-up time in the tobacco-using group compared to the non-using group.