Jeffrey P. Lienert, MS, from the department of epidemiology at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues write that the results call into question the suggested tendency for dry eye disease to progress over time, but also point to possible inadequacies of current therapies.
Investigators analyzed the medical records of 398 men and 386 women recruited from the Women’s Health and Physician’s Health I and II studies. Male participants ranged in age from 60.2 to 97.3 years and had the disease on average of 10.5 years, and women ranged in age from 61.2 years to 89.9 years with an average disease duration of 14.5 years. A history of severe symptoms was reported by 68.1 percent of women versus 34.7 percent of men.
Thirty-six percent of patients were using level 2 treatments, and 64 percent were using level 1 agents or no treatments.
Here are five things to know:
1. Less than a quarter (24.1 percent) of respondents reported change in ocular surface symptoms.
2. About 28.7 percent reported change in vision-related symptoms.
3. Just 9.7 percent reported change in social impact.
4. Those with a history of severe symptoms were more likely to experience worsening and to have epithelial damage such as corneal straining or superficial punctate keratopathy.
5. In the United States, this chronic condition is estimated to affect 3.2 million women and 1.68 million men aged 50 years and older.
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