Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the relationship between tear film break–up time (TFBUT) and age in a patients of Ashkenazi Jewish descent who have been diagnosed with dry eye. This population was studied due to its high incidence of altered autonomic–nervous–system function secondary to familial dysautonomia (1:30) and the role of neural regulation in dry eye. Methods: : Forty–six (46) patients of Ashkenazi Jewish descent who have been diagnosed with dry eye underwent ophthalmic examinations including visual acuity, tear film break–up time (TFBUT), and fluorescein staining. Patient data was grouped into three categories according to age: 30 to 49 years old (n = 16 eyes), 50 to 69 years old (n = 54 eyes), and 70+ years old (n = 22 eyes). Results: Mean TFBUT in patients between the ages of 30 and 49 was 6.99 (±4.07) seconds, ages of 50 and 69 was 3.33 (±1.76) seconds, and ages of 70+ was 2.56 (± 0.87) seconds. It was observed that age grouping was a significant predictor of mean TFBUT (p = 0.0001). Conclusions: The data show that tear film stability decreases as age advances within this population.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: risk factor assessment • cornea: clinical science