Not only hard contact lens wear but also soft contact lens wear may be associated with blepharoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: The authors attempt to establish an association between prolonged hard and soft contact lens wear and ptosis.

DESIGN: Single-center retrospective consecutive series.

PARTICIPANTS: All patients between 18 and 50 years of age who were diagnosed with unilateral or bilateral ptosis between January 2002 and December 2005 (35 patients).

METHODS: In a retrospective consecutive series, we included all patients between 18 and 50 years of age, with unilateral or bilateral ptosis between January 2002 and December 2005. Patients with congenital ptosis, ophthalmic surgery or disease, trauma, giant papillary conjunctivitis, unknown duration of contact lens wear, or muscular or neurologic disorders were excluded. We compared this study group to a Dutch reference population (the total underlying population from which the ptosis cases derive).

RESULTS: The group included 35 patients: 20 (57%) (ages 18 to 50 years, average 37 years) had been wearing hard contact lenses for, on average, 17.6 years (range 6 to 27 years); 9 (26%) (ages 18 to 45 years, average 30 years) had been wearing soft contact lenses for, on average, 9 years (range 1.5 to 20 years); and 6 (17%) (ages 23 to 39 years, average 33 years) had no history of contact lens wear. The odds ratio for soft contact lenses was 14.7 (4.2 to 50.7; CI = 95) and for hard contact lenses 97.8 (22.5 to 424).

CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that not only hard contact lens wear but also soft contact lens wear may be associated with ptosis.