Do daily wear opaquely tinted hydrogel soft contact lenses affect contrast sensitivity function at one meter?

Purpose. To investigate the effects of daily wear opaquely tinted hydrogel soft contact lenses on contrast sensitivity functions, as measured using the Pelli-Robson chart viewed at 1 meter. Methods. Contrast sensitivity was measured in 48 healthy individuals before and 6 hours after soft contact lens wear. Twenty-four subjects used clear soft contact lenses and 24 used tinted soft contact lenses. Results. The contrast sensitivity scores were significantly decreased monocularly and binocularly (P= 0.000 and P= 0.002, respectively) in the colored contact lens group whereas there were no significant changes in the clear contact lens group (P = 0.317 and P = 0.317, respectively). Conclusions. Color-tinted contact lenses were associated with a reduction of contrast sensitivity function. Therefore, those who wear colored contact lenses should be informed about the possible consequences of tinted contact lens wearing. © 2003 Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists, Inc.