In a new study published in BMC Ophthalmology on Jan. 22, 2022, “Effects of aerobic exercise on tear secretion and tear film stability in dry eye patients,” researchers studied the effect of aerobic exercise (AE) on tear secretion and tear film stability.
The report concludes, “In dry eye with AE group, Schirmer I test at 0 min after AE increased significantly compared to baseline (P < 0.001), the oxidative stress marker 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine after AE decreased significantly compared to baseline (P = 0.035, P = 0.045), F-NITBUT and A-NITBUT after AE prolonged significantly compared to baseline (P < 0.001, P = 0.007, P = 0.036; P < 0.001, P = 0.001, P = 0.044), number of incomplete blinks and PBR at 10 min after AE decreased significantly compared to baseline (P < 0.001; P < 0.001) while number of complete blinks increased significantly (P < 0.001). Besides, significant differences were also found between dry eye with AE group and dry eye without AE group at all above corresponding time point (P < 0.05).
The investigators wrote, “An intact and regular tear film is an important factor for high-quality retinal images. Dry eye patients with destabilized tear film show higher values of higher-order aberrations. This leads to excessive diopter variation before and after blinking causing visual fluctuation…We speculated that the improvement of visual acuity in dry eye patients after AE was related to the change of higher-order aberration caused by the improvement of tear film stability.”
All participants in the study were between the ages of 18-30 years, so further study is warranted on an older population in which dry eye complaints may be more prevalent.
