Introduction:

Visual problems caused by computer use are nowadays one of the most common conditions among workers. This paper summarizes the scientific evidence on Eye Fatigue Syndrome (EFS) and its relationship to work environment, risk factors, especially sensitive population and preventive aspects.

Methods:

A systematic review of the scientific literature published between 2005 and 2015 was carried out in several databases using search equations with MeSH terms. The references filtered based on the objectives obtained a final collection of 19 articles. The evidence level was determined according to SIGN criteria.

Results:

Common risk factors for developing EFS were identified, such as female genre with a level of evidence 3 and 2- (according to SIGN criteria), presence of refractive defects (level of evidence 3) and number of hours staring at a screen (level of evidence 3 and 2+).

Conclusion:

Most authors agree on a growing increase in EFS. Meanwhile others mention a possible decrease due to the optimization of working teams. The overestimation of symptoms is frequent due to the massive use of electronic devices outside the workplace. Significant association between exposure time and onset of symptoms, as well as relation to female genre and use of contact lenses is evident, although disparate results were observed. The improvement of the work environment is mentioned as the main preventive measure.