Improved Tear Film Stability with Aerobic Exercise

Article: Exercise can provide relief for dry, itchy eyes
Source: University of Waterloo (Canada)
Published: February 3, 2022

Regular aerobic exercise could improve ocular health

Dry eye symptoms are becoming increasingly common as people spend more time looking at screens. Researchers in Canada were interested in whether lifestyle habits, such as frequent aerobic exercise, could improve tear secretion and tear film stability in place of lubricating eye drops. In this study, 52 young adult participants without dry eyes were divided into two groups: those who engaged in aerobic exercise five times per week (athletes) and those who engaged in aerobic exercise no more than once per week (non-athletes). The aerobic exercise protocol used in this study was the Bruce treadmill stress test, or maximal incremental stress test to exhaustion. Measurements of distance visual acuity (VA), stereopsis, tear film stability via non-invasive tear break-up time (TBUT), and tear secretion via the phenol red thread test were taken before and after each exercise session. The researchers observed that at baseline, the athletes had higher TBUT scores than non-athletes (14.6 ± 2.9 s vs. 11.9 ± 3.8), and that this difference remained after exercise (17.7 ± 2.7 s vs. 14.8 ± 2.9). The athletes also had greater improvement in basal tear secretion compared to the non-athletes (22.3 ± 2.5 mm to 25.8 ± 1.7 mm vs. 21.42 ± 2.85 mm to 23.73 ± 2.68 mm). Visual acuity was improved in both groups after exercise, while stereopsis was unchanged in either group. No significant associations were observed for gender or duration of exercise (borderline). Taken together, this small study found some associations between both a single bout of incremental exercise and the frequency of exercise between athletes vs. non-athletes for improvement of dry eyes, showing the potential for physical fitness to enhance not only systemic health but also ocular health.

My rating of this study: ⭐🌸

Abokyi S, Mensah SN, Otchere H, et al. "Differential effect of maximal incremental treadmill exercise on tear secretion and tear film stability in athletes and non-athletess." Experimental Eye Research.  214:108865. January 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exer.2021.108865