Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To investigate the effect of menopause on blink rate in a population of dry eye patients when exposed to a Controlled Adverse Environment (CAE). Methods: Fifty–eight (58) women diagnosed with dry eye underwent baseline examinations including visual acuity, blink rate, tear film break–up time (TFBUT), and fluorescein staining. All patients were exposed to a CAE which regulates humidity (<10%), temperature (76 ± 6), airflow (constant, non–turbulent), and visual tasking (watching a movie) for 90 minutes. After CAE exposure, blink rate, TFBUT, and fluorescein staining were re–evaluated. Results: In pre menopausal patients (n = 20), mean blink rate remained the same, from 20.41 (±12.11) to 20.25 (±11.01) blinks / minute after exposure to the CAE. In post menopausal patients (n = 38), mean blink rate increased from 16.07 (±13.07) to 32.67 (±23.74) blinks / minute after exposure to the CAE (p < 0.0001). Mean TFBUT remained the same in pre menopausal patients and decreased from 3.32 (±2.48) to 2.97 (±2.3) seconds in post menopausal patients (p = 0.04). Conclusions:The data suggest that post menopausal dry eye patients blink more frequently when exposed to an adverse environment while pre menopausal dry eye patients do not. An explanation for the dramatic difference in this compensatory mechanism requires further investigation.
Keywords: cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye • aging • cornea: clinical science