Knowledge, perception and practice towards blue-blocking lenses among optometrists

Clinical relevance: There is a lack of clinical guidelines in India for the prescription of blue-blocking lenses. Therefore, the practice trends will depend on practitioners’ knowledge, attitude, and perception. Background: Exposure to blue light with increased use of light-emitting diode (LED) lights and digital devices along with the commercial availability of blue blocking lenses has warranted the need to understand the factors that influence the prescription of blue blocking lenses among eye care practitioners. Hence, we aim to assess knowledge, perception, and practice pattern of blue blocking lenses among Indian optometrists. Methods: This cross-sectional online survey was conducted among Indian Optometrists. The survey was distributed through various social groups of optometrists and state associations. The questionnaire had four main domains with 29 items in total. The four major domains were knowledge, practice, perception and demographic details on education. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to study the impact of these domains on the prescription of blue block lenses. Results: Out of 341 responses, 247 were included for analysis as per study criteria. About 50% (n = 123) of the participants had appropriate knowledge about blue light. Blue-blocking lenses were prescribed always or most of the time by 52% (n = 130) of the participants. The odds of prescribing blue blocking lenses were higher among practitioners who considered blue light as an important factor in causing computer vision syndrome (OR 3.77, 95% CI: 1.33–10.69, P = 0.01) or if they considered there is adequate published evidence (OR 3.95, 95% CI: 1.58–9.87, P = 0.003). Conclusions: The source of evidence for prescribing blue-blocking lenses for our participants was mainly from advertisements rather than from scientific studies. Factors such as awareness, knowledge, education, and nature of practice did not play a significant role in prescribing blue-blocking lenses. This raises the need for evidence-based practice and the development of practice guidelines for prescribing blue-blocking lenses.