Abstract
Purpose: :
To characterize clinical signs and symptoms in a group of postmenopausal (PM) females who present with and without symptoms of dry eye.
Methods: :
39 healthy PM females (>50 years of age), who were non–contact lens wearers and not on Hormone Replacement Therapy, were categorized as being symptomatic or asymptomatic of dry eye (DE) based on their response to a single–item score dry eye questionnaire (SIDEQ). The participants also completed the Allergan Ocular Surface Disease Index© (OSDI) and the Indiana Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ). Non invasive tear breakup time (NITBUT) was evaluated using the ALCON Eyemap®. Tear volume was assessed using the Phenol Red Thread (PRT) test and bulbar conjunctival hyperemia was measured using an objective method (SpectraScan PR650 Spectrophometer).
Results: :
SIDEQ responses revealed 20 symptomatic (DE; 63.2 ± 9.5 yrs; 11 = mild, 7 = moderate, 2 = severe) and 19 asymptomatic (NDE; 59.9 ±7.3 yrs) participants. The OSDI total score was NDE = 4.1 ± 4.4; DE = 26.9 ± 20.4 and the sub scores for the DE group were significantly greater than the NDE group (p<0.001). The DEQ scores showed that the DE group exhibited a higher frequency and intensity of symptoms than the NDE group (p<0.001), which worsened as the day progressed. The DE group exhibited a shorter NITBUT (DE = 5.8 ± 2.1sec; NDE = 8.9 ± 3.6sec; p=0.005). Tear volume was marginally greater in the NDE group (19.3 ± 6.3mm vs. 17.1 ± 5.0mm), but this was not statistically significant (p=0.289). The DE group had slightly increased levels of bulbar hyperemia (u’ = 0.292 ± 0.01 vs. 0.286 ± 0.01) but this was statistically insignificant (p=0.140).
Conclusions: :
PM females who are categorized as being symptomatic of dry eye show variable symptoms of ocular irritation, which increase over the course of the day at a greater rate than an age–matched group of asymptomatic subjects. Clinical measurements did not correlate well with subject symptoms. DEQ’s can be used as an effective tool in categorizing subjects based on their severity of symptoms and can be very useful in treatment trials for dry–eye.
Keywords: conjunctiva • lacrimal gland