Computer vision syndrome in healthcare workers using video display terminals: an exploration of the risk factors

AIMS: To estimate the prevalence of computer vision syndrome (CVS) in healthcare workers and its relationship to video display terminal (VDT) exposure, sociodemographic, optical correction and work characteristics, and to analyse whether there are differences among occupational groups. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: . Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with CVS. All the results were stratified by occupational group. RESULTS: The prevalence of CVS was 56.75% with nurses being the most affected occupational group (61.75%). It was associated significantly with female sex (aOR = 2.57; 95% CI 1.36-4.88) and morning shifts plus on-call (aOR = 2.33; 95% CI 1.11-4.88) in the physicians and surgeons group. Among the nurses, it was associated with female sex (aOR = 2.35; 95% CI 1.03-5.37), seniority between 10 and 20 years (aOR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.03-4.59), VDT exposure at work of 2-4 h/day (aOR = 6.14; 95% CI 1.08-35.02), VDT exposure at work >4 h/day (aOR = 7.14; 95% CI 1.29-39.62) and self-perception that using the software application was not easy (aOR = 2.49; 95% CI 1.23-5.01). CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of CVS among healthcare workers was observed. The risk factors that increased the likelihood of suffering from this syndrome depended on the occupation. IMPACT: The findings may be used as a reference for occupational health services to implement specific preventive measures to reduce CVS for each occupational group. Such measures should consider both individual factors and the working conditions.