Scientists: People who wear glasses are diagnosed with 5 times less coronavirus
Chinese Scientists found that those who wore glasses had five fewer Covid-19 diagnoses than the general population.
The researchers explained that their findings also provide more evidence for why healthcare professionals should wear eye protection.
For the study published in JAMA Ophthalmology, the team examined 276 patients, 30 of whom were diagnosed with Covid-19 between January 27 and March 13. It was stated that a total of 16 patients, all of whom were far-sighted, wore glasses for more than eight hours a day, with a rate of 5.8 percent overall.
“VIRUS RATE OF PEOPLE WHO Wearing LONG-TERM GLASSES IS 5.4X LESS”
However, the researchers also compiled studies done ten to twenty years ago in Hubey state involving students aged 7 to 22 years old to provide a more general population data. It was calculated that 31.5 percent of these young and middle-aged people today wear glasses due to myopic vision defects. The researchers then calculated that the rate of people who wear glasses was diagnosed with corona virus is 5.4 times less than others.
The authors of the study wrote, “Our main finding was that Covid-19 patients who wear glasses for a long time every day are relatively rare, which may be preliminary evidence that everyday eyeglass wearers are less susceptible to the new type of corona virus.”
CORONA VIRUS ENTERS THE BODY FROM THE EYES
The researchers reported that the glasses “prevent or deter users from touching their eyes, thus preventing the virus from being transferred from the hands to the eyes.”
Previous research has revealed that the eyes produce ACE-2 enzymes that allow the virus to attach to the body, and scientists have announced that the corona virus is not only found on the surface of the eye, but also in tears.
The authors of the study said, “The eyes are considered as an important channel through which the new type of corona virus enters the human body. For daily glasses wearers who usually wear glasses in social settings, this can become a protective factor, reduce the risk of virus contamination to the eyes, and cause long-term daily glasses wearers not to be infected with Covid-19.
