Use of Protective Eyewear During Recreational Activities in Adults of the United States: Analysis from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey.

PURPOSE: Eye injuries occur frequently in the United States resulting in vision loss. Protective eyewear (PE) is a simple, effective way to prevent these injuries. The study aims to evaluate characteristics associated with no PE usage in hopes to better understand factors that may be targeted to alleviate future injuries.

METHODS: Individuals from the 2016 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) who performed recreational activities that could cause eye injury were divided into two groups - those with and without PE usage during these activities - and compared on several variables consisting of age group, gender, race, family income, ability to afford eyeglasses, employment, wearing of corrective lenses, and visitation with general and eye care providers. Statistical analyses were performed with SAS controlling for the complex same design via chi-square tests and logistic regression.

RESULTS: From a total of 8,199 subjects, those who are female, Asian, black, Hispanic, ages 18-24 years old, have a family income <$35,000, unemployed, not wearers of corrective lenses, and have not seen a general or eye care provider showed increased no PE usage according to chi-square analysis. With multivariate analysis, only race, gender, age, and wearing of corrective lenses correlated to PE usage.

CONCLUSIONS: Comparing 2002 and 2016 NHIS, PE usage had increased from 34.7% to 65.1%. Individuals who were younger, female, of a minority race, or who did not wear corrective lenses had increased odds of not using PE during recreational activities. Prevention should target these associated groups in efforts to reduce recreational eye injuries.