Abstract
Objectives: The importance of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via the eyes is unknown, with previous studies mainly focusing on protective eyewear in healthcare settings. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that wearing eyeglasses is associated with a lower risk of COVID-19. Methods: Participants from the Virus Watch prospective community cohort study responded to a questionnaire on the use of eyeglasses and contact lenses. Infection was confirmed through data linkage, self-reported positive results, and, for a subgroup, monthly capillary antibody testing. Multivariable logistic regression models, controlling for age, sex, income, and occupation, were used to identify the odds of infection depending on frequency and purpose of eyeglasses or contact lenses use. Results: A total of 19,166 participants responded to the questionnaire, with 13,681 (71.3%, CI 70.7-72.0) reporting they wore eyeglasses. Multivariable logistic regression model showed a 15% lower odds of infection for those who reported using eyeglasses always for general use (odds ratio [OR] 0.85, 95% 0.77-0.95, P = 0.002) compared to those who never wore eyeglasses. The protective effect was reduced for those who said wearing eyeglasses interfered with mask-wearing and was absent for contact lens wearers. Conclusions: People who wear eyeglasses have a moderate reduction in risk of COVID-19 infection, highlighting that eye protection may make a valuable contribution to the reduction of transmission in community and healthcare settings.
Originalsprog | Engelsk |
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Tidsskrift | International Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Vol/bind | 139 |
Sider (fra-til) | 28-33 |
ISSN | 1201-9712 |
DOI | |
Status | Udgivet - 2024 |
Bibliografisk note
Funding Information:The research costs for the study have been supported by the MRC Grant Ref: MC_PC 19070 awarded to UCL on 30 March 2020 and MRC Grant Ref: MR/V028375/1 awarded on 17 August 2020. The study also received $15,000 of Facebook advertising credit to support a pilot social media recruitment campaign on 18th August 2020. The study also received funding from the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care's Vaccine Evaluation Programme to provide monthly Thriva antibody tests to adult participants. This study was supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship to RA [206602]. Funding from the HSE Protect study, GOSH Children's Charity, and the Great Ormond Street Hospital BRC supported the involvement of CO in the project.
Funding Information:
The research costs for the study have been supported by the MRC Grant Ref: MC_PC 19070 awarded to UCL on 30 March 2020 and MRC Grant Ref: MR/V028375/1 awarded on 17 August 2020. The study also received $15,000 of Facebook advertising credit to support a pilot social media recruitment campaign on 18th August 2020. The study also received funding from the UK Government Department of Health and Social Care's Vaccine Evaluation Programme to provide monthly Thriva antibody tests to adult participants. This study was supported by the Wellcome Trust through a Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship to RA [206602]. Funding from the HSE Protect study, GOSH Children's Charity, and the Great Ormond Street Hospital BRC supported the involvement of CO in the project. This study has been approved by the Hampstead National Health Service Health Research Authority Ethics Committee. Ethics approval number - 20/HRA/2320. Conceptualisation was by AMDN, CO, SB and AH. Data Curation was carried out by AMDN, SB, VN, MS, RWA, CG, WLEF. Formal Analysis was carried out by AMDN, VN and SB. Investigation, methodology and resources was done by all authors. Project administration was by RWA, JK, AH. Manuscript curation was by AMDN, CO, RWA and ACH. All authors reviewed the manuscript. ACH affirms that the manuscript is honest, accurate, and transparent account of the study being reported; that no important aspects of the study have been omitted; and that any discrepancies from the study as planned have been explained. Details on the patient and public involvement can be found in the research protocol [11] [12]. Throughout the study process participants and the public were able to contact the research team directly through email, which was monitored daily to provide immediate responses to queries and feedback. We aim to share aggregate data from this project on our website and via a “Findings so far” section on our website - https://ucl-virus-watch.net/. We will also be sharing individual record-level data on a research data-sharing service such as the Office of National Statistics Secure Research Service. In sharing the data, we will work within the principles set out in the UKRI guidance on best practices in the management of research data. Access to use of the data while research is being conducted will be managed by the Chief Investigators (ACH and RWA) in accordance with the principles set out in the UKRI guidance on best practices in the management of research data. We will put analysis code on publicly available repositories to enable their reuse. Susan Michie6, Pia Hardelid7, Linda Wijlaars7, Eleni Nastouli7,8, Moira Spyer1,7,8, Ben Killingley7,9,10, Ingemar Cox11, Vasileios Lampos11, Rachel A. McKendry12, Tao Cheng13, Yunzhe Liu13, Jo Gibbs5, Richard Gilson5, Alison Rogers5, Anne M. Johnson5, 5Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, UK, 6Centre for Behaviour Change, University College London, London, UK, 7Department of Population, Policy and Practice, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, UK, 8Francis Crick Institute, London, UK, 9Health Protection and Influenza Research Group, Division of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Nottingham School of Medicine, Nottingham, UK, 10University College London Hospital, London, UK, 11Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK, 12London Centre for Nanotechnology and Division of Medicine, University College London, London, UK, 13SpaceTimeLab, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, University College London,London, UK
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© 2023 The Authors