{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,13]],"date-time":"2026-04-13T17:15:34Z","timestamp":1776100534946,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770249600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Med."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a multifactorial ocular surface disorder characterized by tear film instability and inflammation, leading to ocular discomfort, irritation, and visual disturbance. In Saudi Arabia, environmental conditions, ergonomic, and behavioral factors such as digital device use and contact lens wear may exacerbate DED symptoms. However, large-scale population-based studies examining the epidemiological and clinical determinants of DED remain limited.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      This cross-sectional study was conducted using a validated online questionnaire distributed across Saudi Arabia. The survey comprised four domains: sociodemographic characteristics, awareness and knowledge of eye health, behavioral and environmental risk factors, and clinical symptoms related to DED and contact lens use. Data from 1,009 participants were analyzed using SPSS version 29. Potential associations between DED domains and demographic or behavioral variables were examined using chi-square and t-tests, with significance set at\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Among the 1,009 respondents, females represented 56.7%, and the majority were aged 35\u201344\u202fyears (29.3%). The mean domain scores indicated that \u201cIrritation\/Dryness\u201d was the most affected domain (47.5\u202f\u00b1\u202f22.8). The\n                      <jats:italic>\u201cSymptoms domain\u201d<\/jats:italic>\n                      was significantly associated with age, gender, marital status, education, and occupation (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), whereas the\n                      <jats:italic>\u201cActivity Limitations domain\u201d<\/jats:italic>\n                      significantly correlated with age, marital status, education, and occupation (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.05). Both\n                      <jats:italic>\u201cEye Discomfort\u201d<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>\u201cIrritation\/Dryness\u201d<\/jats:italic>\n                      domains were significantly related to gender (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001) and lifestyle factors, particularly hours spent on phones and computers (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Prolonged digital exposure and female gender were the strongest predictors of increased DED symptom burden.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Dry Eye Disease is a prevalent and multifactorial health concern among the Saudi population, strongly influenced by demographic, behavioral, ergonomic, and environmental determinants. Women and younger adults with high exposure to digital devices are particularly vulnerable. Implementing public health interventions, including awareness programs, workplace ergonomics, and AI-based digital screening, may be crucial to reducing the disease burden and advancing Vision 2030 goals for preventive eye health.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2026.1763735","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T14:11:24Z","timestamp":1770300684000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Toward a clearer vision: epidemiology and symptom-based clinical patterns of dry eye disease in the Saudi population"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Mariam M.","family":"AlEissa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Alfaisal University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Research Department, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Population Health Observatory, Ministry of Health","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Computational Sciences Department at the Centre for Genomic Medicine (CGM), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Public Health Authority, Public Health Lab","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ahmed","family":"Mousa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hala A.","family":"Alosimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King Saud Medical City, Riyadh First Health Cluster","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rana A.","family":"Alosimi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bent Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abrar A.","family":"Alhawsawi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Ophthalmology Division, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Jeddah","place":["Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Reem","family":"Alkharji","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, Health Sciences Research Centre, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amera S.","family":"AlQahtani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Medical Genetics, Hopital Purpan, CHU de Toulouse","place":["Toulouse, France"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Raniah S.","family":"Alotibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"King Abdullah International Medical Research Center","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]},{"name":"Ministry of National Guard\u2013Health Affairs","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sulaiman I.","family":"Alquwayfili","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Lean Business Services","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sajjad","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Ophthalmology, University College of London","place":["London, United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Moorfields Eye Hospital","place":["London, United Kingdom"]},{"name":"Moorfields\/UCL NIHR Biomedical Research Centre","place":["London, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Deepak P.","family":"Edward","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Research Department, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital","place":["Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"925876","DOI":"10.3389\/fmed.2022.925876","article-title":"Editorial: advances in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of dry eye disease","volume":"9","author":"Lu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Med (Lausanne)"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.70070\/ns4rev12","article-title":"The analysis study of interventions of dry eye: a comprehensive systematic review","volume":"5","author":"Ismail","year":"2024","journal-title":"Indones J Gen Med"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1458","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina60091458","article-title":"Epidemiology and risk factors of 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