title: Prevalence of vitreous floaters in a community sample of smartphone users.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the prevalence and risk factors for vitreous floaters in the general population.
  
  
  METHODS
  An electronic survey was administered through a smartphone app asking various demographic and health questions, including whether users experience floaters in their field of vision. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to determine risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 603 individuals completed the survey, with 76% reporting that they see floaters, and 33% reporting that floaters caused noticeable impairment in vision. Myopes were 3.5 times more likely (P=0.0004), and hyperopes 4.4 times more likely (P=0.0069) to report moderate to severe floaters compared to those with normal vision. Floater prevalence was not significantly affected by respondent age, race, gender, and eye color.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Vitreous floaters were found to be a very common phenomenon in this non-clinical general population sample, and more likely to be impairing in myopes and hyperopes.
authors.affiliation: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Texas Tech University, 3601 4th St #2B106, Lubbock, Texas 79430, United States.
authors.forename: Blake F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Jadon R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Schroeder
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: North
keywords: age; floaters; myopia; survey; vitreous floaters