Contact Lens Use Patterns, Behavior and Knowledge Among University Students in Thailand

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographics, Refractive Errors and Contact Lens Information of Participants (N = 336)

Characteristics	Number (%)
Female	270 (80.36%)
Age (mean ± SD, years)	19.2 ± 1.4
University
Suan Dusit	64 (19.05%)
Suan Sunandha Rajabhat	272 (80.95%)
Faculty
Management science	142 (42.26%)
Humanities and social science	78 (23.21%)
Innovation and management	26 (7.74%)
Science and technology	17 (5.06%)
Education	14 (4.17%)
Fine arts	14 (4.17%)
Others	45 (13.39%)
Refractive error (median and range, D)	−2.75 (−8.00 to 0.00)
Having astigmatism	105 (31.25%)
Purpose of using contact lens
Refractive error correction	290 (83.31%)
Cosmetic purposes	46 (13.69%)
Contact lens experience (median and range, year)	2.7 (0.1 to 7)
Soft contact lens	336 (100%)
Replacement schedule
Daily	22 (6.55%)
Bi-weekly	6 (1.79%)
Monthly	303 (90.18%)
Major reason for purchasing particular contact lens
Comfortable feeling	277 (82.44%)
Contact lens brand	49 (14.58%)
Cost	10 (2.98%)
Contact lens brand
Duna	119 (35.42%)
Bausch + Lomb	60 (17.86%)
Maxim	45 (13.39%)
Kitty Kawaii	27 (8.04%)
Acuvue	13 (3.87%)
Others	28 (8.33%)
Place of purchase
Optical shop	222 (66.07%)
Flea market	48 (14.29%)
Internet	44 (13.10%)
Department store	13 (3.87%)
Lens wear duration per day
< 8 hours/day	93 (27.68%)
8–12 hours/day	216 (64.29%)
>12 hours/day	27 (8.04%)
Lens wear per week (mean ± SD, days)	4.7 ± 1.6
Cleaning solution
Multipurpose solution	323 (96.1%)
Normal saline solution	8 (2.38%)
Tap water	3 (0.89%)

Table 2 Behavior and Knowledge of Contact Lens Wear and Care of Participants (N = 336)

Questions	Behavior		Knowledge		Correlation* (p value)
	Yes	No	Yes	No
Sleeping overnight with lenses	99 (29.46%)	237 (70.54%)	229 (68.15%)	107 (31.85%)	0.03 (0.527)
Sharing lenses with friends	15 (4.46%)	321 (95.54%)	321 (95.54%)	15 (4.46%)	1.00 (< 0.001)
Replace lenses as recommended	186 (55.36%)	150 (44.64%)	295 (87.80%)	41 (12.20%)	0.05 (0.367)
Swimming with contact lenses	86 (25.60%)	250 (74.4%)	306 (91.07%)	30 (8.93%)	0.08 (0.146)
Using tap water for cleaning/rinsing lenses	51 (15.81%)	285 (84.82%)	323 (96.13%)	13 (3.87%)	0.001 (0.983)
Using fresh lens solution every day	263 (78.27%)	59 (17.56%)	298 (88.69%)	38 (11.31%)	−0.04 (0.515)
Changing lens case every 1–3 months	303 (90.18%)	8 (2.38%)	255 (75.89%)	81 (24.11%)	−0.04 (0.449)
Average total score (mean, SD)	5 (1)		6 (1)		0.03 (0.655)

Note: *Using Spearman’s rank correlation for each question and Pearson correlation for average total score.

Table 3 Association Between Gender and Contact Lens (CL) Pattern with Poor CL Behavior

Factors	Categories	Contact Lens Behaviors		Univariate Analysis		Multivariate Analysis
		Poor	Good	OR (95% CI)	P value	Adjusted OR (95% CI)	Adjusted p value
Gender	Male	25 (37.88%)	41 (62.12%)	0.75 (0.43, 1.30)	0.309
	Female	121 (44.81%)	149 (55.19%)
Lens replacement schedule	Monthly	132 (56.44%)	171 (56.44%)	1.03 (0.47, 2.25)	0.942
	Daily/bi-weekly	12 (42.86%)	16 (57.14%)
Colored contact lenses	Yes	27 (49.09%)	28 (50.91%)	1.32 (0.73, 2.38)	0.354
	No	100 (42.19%)	137 (57.81%)
Purpose of wearing lenses	Refractive correction	125 (43.10%)	165 (56.90%)	0.90 (0.48, 1.68)	0.746
	Cosmetic purposes	21 (45.65%)	25 (54.35%)
Refractive errors	< −3.00 D (high myopia)	52 (50.49%)	51 (49.51%)	1.51 (0.94, 2.40)	0.084	1.36 (0.83, 2.23)	0.227
	≥ −3.00 D (low myopia)	94 (40.34%)	139 (59.66%)
Place of purchase	Flea market	25 (52.08%)	23 (47.92%)	1.69 (0.90, 3.15)	0.099	1.83 (0.96, 3.48)	0.066
	Internet	27 (61.36%)	17 (38.64%)	2.47 (1.27, 4.78)	0.007*	2.74 (1.39, 5.41)	0.004*
	Optical shop	92 (39.15%)	143 (60.85%)
Wearing experience	> 1 year	119 (47.60%)	131 (52.40%)	1.98 (1.18, 3.33)	0.008*	1.82 (1.04, 3.18)	0.035*
	≤ 1 year	27 (31.40%)	59 (68.60%)
Lens wear duration per day	> 12 hours	17 (62.96%)	10 (37.04%)	2.37 (1.05, 5.35)	0.037*	2.56 (1.07 6.13)	0.035*
	≤ 12 hours	129 (41.75%)	17 (62.96%)
Lens wear per week	> 5 days	53 (51.46%)	50 (48.54%)	1.59 (1.00, 2.54)	0.049*	1.38 (0.84, 2.26)	0.197
	≤ 5 days	93 (39.91)	140 (60.09%)

Note: *Statistical significance at p value < 0.05.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; OR, odds ratio.

Table 4 Contact Lens-Related Ocular Complications and Eye Check-Up (N = 336)

History	N (%)
Contact lens-related ocular complications
Corneal ulcers	34 (10.12%)
Other complications	53 (15.77%)
Red eye	11 (3.27%)
Dry eye	6 (1.78%)
Eye irritation	2 (0.59%)
Eye fatigue	1 (0.30%)
Unspecified	32 (9.52%)
Eye check-up
Before and after wearing	17 (5.06%)
Only before wearing	78 (23.21%)
Only after wearing	22 (6.55%)
Never	219 (65.18%)

Table 5 Association Between Type of Gender, Contact Lens, Risk Behaviors and History of Having Contact Lens-Related Corneal Ulcer in Participants

Factors	Categories	History of Contact Lens-Related Corneal Ulcer		Univariate Analysis		Multivariate Analysis
		Yes	No	OR (95% CI)	P value	Adjusted OR (95% CI)	Adjusted p value
Gender	Male	11 (16.67%)	55 (83.33%)	2.15 (0.99–4.66)	0.053	2.78 (1.20, 6.42)	0.017*
	Female	23 (8.52%)	247 (91.48%)
Contact lens replacement schedule	1 Month	31 (10.23%)	272 (89.77%)	1.48 (0.33, 6.54)	0.586
	<1 Month	2 (7.14%)	26 (92.86%)
Colored contact lenses	Yes	7 (12.73%)	48 (87.27%)	1.35 (0.55, 3.34)	0.507
	No	23 (9.70%)	214 (90.30%)
Place of purchase	Flea market	5 (10.42%)	43 (89.58%)	1.18 (0.42, 3.31)	0.746
	Internet	7 (15.91%)	37 (84.09%)	1.92 (0.76, 4.86)	0.164
	Optical shop	21 (8.94%)	214 (91.60%)
Washing hand before inserting/removing lenses	Yes	23 (8.21%)	257 (91.79%)	0.37 (0.17, 0.80)	0.012*	0.51 (0.21, 1.20)	0.123
	No	11 (19.64%)	45 (80.36%)
Sleeping overnight with lenses	Yes	12 (12.12%)	87 (87.88%)	1.35 (0.64, 2.84)	0.433
	No	22 (9.28%)	215 (90.72%)
Sharing lenses with friends	Yes	4 (26.67%)	11 (73.33%)	3.53 (1.06, 11.76)	0.040*	2.09 (0.57, 7.71)	0.268
	No	30 (9.35%)	291 (90.65%)
Replacing lenses as recommended	Yes	18 (9.68%)	168 (90.32%)	0.90 (0.44, 1.83)	0.765
	No	16 (10.67%)	134 (89.33%)
Swimming with contact lenses	Yes	18 (20.93%)	68 (79.07%)	3.87 (1.87, 8.00)	<0.001*	3.44 (1.57, 7.55)	0.002*
	No	16 (6.40%)	234 (93.60%)
Using tap water to clean/rinse lenses	Yes	10 (19.61%)	41 (80.39%)	2.65 (1.18, 5.95)	0.018*	2.26 (0.93, 5.49)	0.073
	No	24 (8.24%)	261 (91.58%)
Using fresh lens solution every day	Yes	24 (9.13%)	239 (90.87%)	0.56 (0.24, 1.27)	0.165
	No	9 (15.25%)	50 (84.75%)
Changing lens case every 1–3 months	Yes	31 (10.23%)	272 (89.77%)	NA	NA
	No	0 (0%)	8 (100%)

Note: *Statistical significance at p value < 0.05.

Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; NA, not available; OR, odds ratio.