Okay, I know everybody’s obsessing about meibomian glands and devices right now, so I thought this study was particularly interesting. 225 adolescents, of whom 15% had symptoms. 39% of upper and lower lids had some MG dropout, but not correlated with device usage. But then, it’s early days, and we have lots to learn.

Tear Film and Meibomian Gland Characteristics in Adolescents. Tichenor AA1, Ziemanski JF, Ngo W, Nichols JJ, Nichols KK. Cornea. 2019 Dec;38(12):1475-1482.

PURPOSE:
To establish normative values of ocular surface parameters in adolescents and explore factors associated with meibomian gland (MG) dropout.
METHODS:
Subjects between 8 and 17 years of age were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. All subjects were given dry eye and lifestyle questionnaires. Tear film assessments and meibography were performed. Statistical tests included a one-way analysis of variance to test differences in ocular surface parameters between age groups and linear correlations between clinical findings and lifestyle factors.
RESULTS:
Two hundred twenty-five subjects completed the study. Thirty-four subjects (15%) reported ocular discomfort, primarily itching. Tear meniscus height increased with age and was greatest in the oldest subjects (mean = 0.25 mm, P < 0.01). Across all subjects, meibography showed that 39% of the upper and 39% of the lower eyelids had MG dropout. The average MG dropout score was 0.50 ± 0.57 for the upper eyelids and was 0.67 ± 0.93 for the lower eyelids. There was no correlation between phone/tablet usage and MG dropout for either the upper (P = 0.39) or lower (P = 0.56) eyelids.
CONCLUSIONS:
The frequency of ocular symptoms in these adolescents was 15%. Because MG dropout is thought to increase with age, it was unexpected to observe that most subjects in this study had mild MG dropout in 1 or both eyelids. Although electronic device usage did not correlate with MG dropout in this study sample, it is still unclear what the effects of long-term digital device usage may have as the subjects age.