Prevalence of dry eye among adult Chinese in the Beijing Eye Study

Abstract

Purpose To study the prevalence and associations of dry eye symptoms in adult Chinese. Methods The Beijing Eye Study is a population-based study in northern China, which included 4439 of 5324 subjects invited to participate with an age of 40 þ years (response rate: 83.4%). For the present study, a random sample was taken consisting of 1957(44.1%) subjects (1112 women; 56.9%). Dry eye symptoms were evaluated with (1) an interviewer-assisted questionnaire; (2) measurement of the tear-film break-up time; (3) assessment of the fluorescein staining of the cornea; (4) slit-lamp-based examination of a meibomian gland dysfunction; and (5) Schirmer's test. Results Symptoms of a dry eye felt 'often' or 'at all times' were present in 411 subjects (21.0%). In a multivariate analysis, dry eye symptoms were significantly associated with age (Po0.001), female gender (Po0.001; odds ratio (OR): 1.56; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.23, 1.98), urban region (Po0.001;OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.46, 2.48), low degree of nuclear cataract (P ¼ 0.02), and undercorrection of refractive error (P ¼ 0.005; OR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.82). All tests for dry eye did not vary significantly between the dry eye group and the normal group. Conclusions The dry eye symptoms as evaluated subjectively in a questionnaire occurred in about 21% of the adult population in China, with associations to age, female gender, urban region, and undercorrection of a refractive error. Measurement of the tear-film break-up time, assessment of the corneal fluorescein staining, slit-lamp-based examination of a meibomian gland dysfunction, and Schirmer's test were not significantly associated with dry eye symptoms.

The prevalence and clinical profile of dry eye in tertiary hospital based normal healthy population in Uttarakhand, India

“…5,9,12 In the present study moderate dry eye was detected in 105 (44.68%) symptomatic patients without any sign of dry eye as concluded by Gupta et al that less than 60% of subjects with other objective evidence of dry eye are symptomatic. 9 Screening of patients in the preclinical phase when symptomatic without any sign of dry eye is important for its early detection.…”

Assessment of tear secretion and tear film instability in cases with pterygium and normal subjects

“…Studies have either analyzed only the relationship between symptoms of dry eye and pterygium or correlated TBUT and pterygium or studied tear secretion and pterygium. While some of these studies showed a correlation between dry eye and pterygium (Mithal et al, 1991;Ishioka et al, 2001;Lee et al, 2002;Chaidarron et al, 2003;Balogun et al, 2005;Lekhanont et al, 2006;Gupta et al, 2010), others did not find any correlation between these two conditions (Jie et al, 2009;Goldberg, 1976) . As there is no data available about the demographic profile or status of tear secretion and its stability in a Nepalese population, this study also aimed to provide this information.…”

Accounting for Ethnicity-Related Differences in Ocular Surface Integrity as a Step Toward Understanding Contact Lens Discomfort

“…Studies conducted in China and Japan reported a much higher prevalence of dry eye syndrome (DES) than in previous reports, 12,13 suggesting that Asians may be more predisposed to DES than non-Asians. 11 In addition, Hispanic and Asian women in the United States were more likely to report severe dry eye symptoms when compared with white women.…”

“…7,9,10 Specifically, some components of lens care solutions significantly alter dynamic interfacial properties and rheological behavior of human tear lipid films. [11][12][13] Clinical results suggest that both Asian and non-Asian groups exhibited increased corneal staining in response to biguanidepreserved solutions, although Asian subjects demonstrated greater sensitivity to the solutions than did non-Asian subjects. 4 However, the severity of ocular signs does not always correlate with overall lens wear comfort in Asian subjects, and thus may not be an impediment to overall satisfaction.…”