The distribution of blinkrate among Malawian young adults: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

AbstractBlink rate is a critical sign for numerous systemic and ocular conditions in medicine, however, the literature reports varying values for the parameter. Hence, the aim of this study was to establish the cut-off blink rate value among Malawian young adults including the effects of sex and age on the parameter. This was a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional study conducted among students at Mzuzu University in Malawi. The study recruited 98 participants, 50% male and 50% female. The age ranged from 17–45 years. The blink rate was measured manually by observing the number of blinks per minute. The average blink rate was 16.04 (SD = 6.417) blinks per minute. The Blink rate was not significantly correlated with age (P = 0.066) and sex (P = 0.8143). Our study confirms that blink rate varies according to geographical location as a factor of different weather conditions. Moreover, we found no age and sex-related differences in blink rate.