Asthenopic complaints experienced when working under fluorescent lamp illumination have been an issue concerning physiologists, physicians and lighting engineers for over 50 years. Presumable causes have been stressful visual stimulation, quality of illumination, quality of light, and individual ophthalmic and neurophysiological properties of affected subjects. A large sample of 3030 subjects including 200 subjects with asthenopic complaints under fluorescent lamp illumination was studied in order to elucidate characteristics of individuals who have a predisposition to experiencing asthenopic complaints under fluorescent lamp illumination. These characteristics can be grouped according to age, gender, form of complaint experienced, and certain pathophysiological traits. The characteristics of subjects with asthenopic complaints under fluorescent lamp illumination include the following: they are predominantly female, aged 20-30 years, and possess a higher than normal psychovegetative lability, diminished power of concentration, enhanced light sensitivity in cases of flicker sensitivity, and reduced binocular and stereoscopic vision.