Prevalence of Pinguecula and Its Possible Risk Factors among Students of Rehabilitation School of Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2016-2017

Pinguecula is a common type of conjunctival degeneration. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of pinguecula and its determinants in a student population in Iran.
A cross-sectional study was carried out on 850 students at the School of Rehabilitation, Iran University of Medical Sciences, with an average age of 22.06±3.99. After taking the history and life style characteristics, including: duration of outdoor activity, sleep time and computer working time, a standard OSDI questionnaire was completed by each student, and then presence of pinguecula was diagnosed in all students using slit lamp examination.
The total prevalence of pinguecula was 46.91; (57.14 in men and 31.42 in women) and the prevalence of this disease was significantly higher in men than in women (P=<001). There was a significant relationship between the duration of outdoor activity (P=0.017) and computer working time (P=0.001) with pinguecula prevalence. No significant association was found between the prevalence of pinguecula and OSDI questionnaire score, sleep time, and age (all values of P> 0.05).
According to the results, the prevalence of pinguecula was high in the present study, and therefore, comprehensive optometric examinations are recommended for the diagnosis of pinguecula and the subsequent required actions in students. Given the relationship between pinguecula and outdoor activities and computer-time, it is necessary to provide the students with the necessary information about this issue to reduce the incidence of this disease.