A study on prevalence of dry eyes among menopausal women attending a tertiary care centre in Hyderabad, Telangana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20185266Keywords:
Dry eye syndrome, Postmenopausal women, Schirmer testAbstract
Background: Dry eye syndrome arises due to chronic lack of sufficient lubrication and moisture on the surface of the eye. Symptoms of dry eye syndrome includes burning sensation, itchy eyes, blurred vision, and fatigued eyes, redness of eyes, gritty and dry eye sensation / foreign body sensation. Studies reveal that post-menopausal women are at greater risk of developing dry eyes than men of same age. Aims and objectives were to determine the prevalence of dry eye syndrome among post-menopausal women at tertiary care center, Hyderabad and to assess the socio-demographic factors related to dry eye syndrome among study population.
Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out from March to June 2017 among post-menopausal women attending Gandhi Hospital, in Hyderabad, Telangana. A convenient sample of 200 post-menopausal women was taken. Schirmer’s test was used to determine presence of dry eyes.
Results: The mean age of study population was found to be 51.66±5.8 years. The mean age of onset of menopause in study subjects was 45.63±1.8 years. The prevalence of dry eye syndrome was found to be 39.5%. Mild dryness of eyes was most common among study subjects (20.5%). Prevalence of dry eyes increased with age and had significant association.
Conclusions:Dry eye syndrome is not a life threatening disease, but causes ocular discomfort and compromises quality of life. If neglected, can even lead to blindness and debility due to complications arising due to dry eye.
References
Lemp MA. Report of the National Eye Institute/Industry Workshop on clinical trials in dry eyes. CLAO J. 1995;21:221-32.
Sihota R, Tandon R. Systemic Ophthalmology. In: Sihota R, Tandon R, editors. Parson’s Diseases of the Eye, 21st ed. New Delhi: Elsevier; 2010: 463-464.
The definition and classification of dry eye disease: Report of the Definition and Classification Subcommittee of the International Dry Eye WorkShop. Ocul Surf. 2007;5:75‑92.
Christophe Baudouin. The Pathology of Dry Eye. Survey of Ophthalmology. 2001;45(2):S211–20.
Peck T, Olsakovsky L, Aggarwal S. Dry Eye Syndrome in Menopause and Perimenopausal Age Group. Midlife Health. 2017;8(2):51–4.
Uchino M, Schaumberg DA. Dry eye disease: impact on quality of life and vision. Curr Ophthalmol Rep. 2013;1:51-7.
Gadegone Aditi; Sharma Surabhi. Study of Dry Eyes in Post-Menopausal Women-A Rural Hospital Based Study. Int J Adv Res Ideas Innov Technol. 2017;3(1):473-78.
Neha Adlakha, Eva Rani Tirkey, Sujata Lakhtakia. To assess the prevalence of dry eye disease in postmenopausal females in a tertiary care centre in Central India. J Med Sci Clin Res. 2017;05(10):29012-7.
Uchino M Dogru M Yagi Y. The features of dry eye disease in a Japanese elderly population. Optom Vis Sci. 2006;83:797–802.
Moss SE, Klein R, Klein BEK. Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Dry Eye Syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118(9):1264-8.
Ablamowicz AF, Nichols JJ, Nichols KK. Association between serum levels of testosterone and estradiol with meibomian gland assessments in postmenopausal women. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016;57:295–300.
McCarty CA, Bansal AK, Livingston PM, Stanislavsky YL, Taylor HR. The epidemiology of dry eye in Melbourne, Australia. Ophthalmol. 1998;105(6):1114-9.
Adam J, Cruickshanks PJ, Fischer ME, Huang G-H, Barbara EK, Ronald K, et al. Dry Eye in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Health-Related Quality of Life. Am J Ophthalmol. 2014;157(4):799–806.
Lin PY, Tsai SY, Cheng CY, Liu JH, Chou P, Hsu WM. Prevalence of dry eye among an elderly Chinese population in Taiwan: the Shihpai Eye Study. Ophthalmology. 2003;110(6):1096-101.
Schaumberg DA, Sullivan DA, Buring JE, Dana MR. Prevalence of dry eye syndrome among US women. Am J Ophthalmol. 2003;136(2):318-26.
