Effect of reading on non‐invasive tear break‐up time and inter‐blink interval

Abstract

The authors investigated the effect of reading both Chinese and English articles on the non‐invasive tear film break‐up time and inter‐blink interval of 33 Hong Kong‐Chinese subjects. There were no significant differences in the non‐invasive tear break‐up time or the inter‐blink interval between reading a Chinese article and reading an English one. Reading had no effect on the non‐invasive tear break‐up time, but there was a significant increase in the inter‐blink interval when reading. Reduced blinking is a probable cause of symptoms of discomfort and gritty eyes during prolonged reading. There were significant correlations between non‐invasive tear break‐up time and inter‐blink interval before reading and when reading the Chinese article, but not when reading the English article. However, these results were due to one group of subjects only.