Abstract
Purpose: :
To describe the short form Dry Eye Questionnaire - 5 (DEQ-5) scores in a prospective, cross-section of peri- and post-menopausal women presenting for gynecology care.
Methods: :
After informed consent, unselected peri- and post-menopausal women presenting for care at the Indiana University and Wishard Memorial Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics were given a self-administered survey querying surface symptoms in various mucous membranes. The DEQ-5 is the sum of ratings for frequency and intensity of eye discomfort and dryness, and frequency of watery eyes. Correlations between age, DEQ-5 score, self-assessment of and previous diagnosis of dry eye were performed.
Results: :
From 100 surveys, 99 were complete to include in analysis. Average age was 60.0±7.7 years and 30.3% wore contact lenses. Age was not significantly correlated with DEQ-5 score (r=0.10), self-assessment of dry eye (r=-0.01) or recalled prior diagnosis (r=-0.08). The DEQ-5 score was significantly correlated with self-assessment of dry eye (r=-0.60) and recalled prior dry eye diagnosis(r= -0.53). These patterns were similar regardless of contact lens wear. Mean DEQ-5 score was 7.8±4.8 for the whole cohort, 7.2±3.8 for contact lens wearers and 8.0±4.0 for non-wearers. Relationship to other co-morbidities will be shown.The DEQ-5 criteria for further dry eye screening (score of ≥6) was met in 68 (69%) subjects and 19 (19%) had DEQ-5 scores ≥13, similar to a previous sample of patients with Sjögren’s syndrome.
Conclusions: :
In this sample of older women presenting for gynecology care, the DEQ-5 score was independent of age but related well to self-assessment of and recalled prior diagnosis of dry eye. Regardless of contact lens use, the majority of peri- and post-menopausal women had DEQ-5 scores that indicated the need for dry eye screening tests to rule out dry eye.
Keywords: aging • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence