Abstract
Purpose: :
To estimate the prevalence of dry eye in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study (BOSS) and to investigate associated risk factors.
Methods: :
The BOSS is a study of aging in the adult offspring of the population-based Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study cohort. Participants (n=3285) were examined in 2005-2008. Questionnaire data on health history, medication use, potential risk factors, and quality of life (QoL) were available. Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) status was determined by self-report of frequency of dry eye symptoms (dry, gritty, or burning eyes) and the intensity of those symptoms. Associations between DES and risk factors were analyzed using logistic regression.
Results: :
The prevalence of DES in the BOSS was 14.5%, 17.9% of women and 10.5% of men. In a multivariate model of DES, statistically significant associations were found with female sex (Odds Ratio (OR), 1.68; 95% Confidence Interval (CI), 1.33-2.11), current contact use (OR, 2.01; 95%CI, 1.53-2.64), allergies (OR, 1.59; 95%CI 1.22-2.08), arthritis (OR, 1.44; 95%CI, 1.12-1.85), thyroid disease (OR, 1.43; 95%CI, 1.02-1.99), antihistamine use (OR, 1.54; 95%CI, 1.18-2.02), and steroid use (OR, 1.54; 95%CI, 1.16-2.06). These associations remained after excluding current contact wearers. DES was also associated with lower scores on the Medical Outcomes Short Form-36 (β=-3.9, p<0.0001) as well as on the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) (β=-3.4, p<0.0001) when controlling for age, sex, and number of comorbid conditions.
Conclusions: :
The prevalence of dry eye syndrome and its associated risk factors in the BOSS were similar to previous studies. In this study, DES was associated with lower quality of life on a generic QoL instrument and the vision-specific NEI-VFQ-25. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the causes and impact of DES.
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment