C52466: Lifting the lid on dry eye practice

Dry eye disease (DED) is a complex, multifactorial diseased instigated by inadequate tear production and/or rapid tear film evaporation as a result of a multitude of risk factors including ageing, reduced androgen levels, exogenous oestrogen use, dietary imbalance, inflammatory disease, environmental factors and gender (females at higher risk).^1-2

DED causes ocular discomfort, fatigue and visual disturbance which, in turn, interfere with the daily activities of individuals and thus negatively impact on their physical and mental functions.^3-4 Subsequently DED symptoms have been shown to adversely impact on quality of life.⁵ Health utility indexing reports moderate-to-severe dry eyes at a similar level to moderate-to-severe angina.⁶ According to the World Health Organisation the prevalence of depression, already the fourth largest contributor to global disease burden⁷ is expected to increase.⁸ Depressive mood and depressive mood disorder have been associated with various systemic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases,⁹ metabolic disorders¹⁰ and obesity¹¹ and more recently population-based studies have also indicated a statistically significant association between DED and depression and anxiety.^11-17 The effect of DED is often underestimated by practitioners despite this.