Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for dry eye through a brief, 14-question patient profile survey.
Methods :
Fourteen questions and the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) were administered to clinic patients at seven clinical sites. Subjects were defined as dry if their OSDI was ≥ 13 and normal if < 13. Dry was also confirmed with one or more clinical tests and established cut points (TBUT, staining, MG expression, phenol red thread test). Proportions and chi-squared tests were performed on the categorical responses by subjects.
Results :
The responses that were statistically significant between dry and normal were migraine headaches (p = 0.005), see a doctor for chronic conditions (p = 0.025), sinus issues (p = 0.031), and use of eye drops (p = 0.004). In addition, 45% of the sample had consulted an allergist in the past.
Conclusions :
Migraine headache and sinus issues were among the risk factors for dry eye as uncoverd by this survey. Sinus issues is a new risk factor identified in this battery of questions. Previous known risk factors such as diabetes and smoking were not significant. Future work entails assigning point values to these responses to define a cut point maximizing sensitivity and specificity for dry eye. Furthermore, a stronger association between allergy and dry eye may exist and needs continued investigation. This instrument has future implications in population studies as well as everyday clinical practice.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.