Many studies have shown that long-term mask wear can lead to a destabilization of the tear film, an increase in inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, IL-33 and IFN-β, and an increase in corneal dendritic cell density, these changes affect the environment in which ocular commensal bacteria live and ultimately lead to diseases such as dry eye, MGD, etc (D’Souza et al., 2022). The gene discussed is IFNB1; the disease is dry eye syndrome.