Contact lens compliance among a group of young, university-based lens users in South India

Purpose: To investigate the rate of compliance with the soft contact lens care and maintenance procedures with a focus on contact lens wearing habits, cleaning and disinfecting procedures, and maintenance of lens care accessories in a group of young, university-based contact lens wearers Methods: Two hundred and sixteen young soft contact lens wearers with an age range of 18-22 years were selected conveniently from the student population of Manipal University, Manipal, India. After receiving informed consent from the participants, their level of compliance with contact lenses was assessed using a questionnaire. Results: The mean (±SD) age of the participants was 21.86±2.35 years. Out of 216 subjects, only 34% of the lens users were identified to be compliant with the least level of compliance observed in the maintenance of lens care accessories. Conventional users showed significantly (p=0.001) better level of compliance compared to disposable wearers and so did the users who acquired their lenses from clinicians (p=0.001) compared to over-the-counter lens receipt. The gender (p=0.496) and years of experience in contact lens use (p=0.142) did not show any statistically significant difference in the level of compliance. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that non-compliance with lens care procedures among a group of young, university-based soft contact lens wearers is common. The results indicated that all subjects had some degree of noncompliance and the least level of compliance observed in the care of lens accessories.