Dry Eye Disease Affects Health Beyond Vision

Article: Dry eye disease negatively affects physical and mental health as well as vision
Source: University of Southampton, via ScienceDaily
Published: March 11, 2021

Dry eyes is a common multifactorial condition that affects millions of people, many of whom do not report their symptoms. Researchers in the U.K. conducted an online survey of 1000 people with dry eyes and compared them with 1000 people without the condition to explore how dry eyes affect quality of life. Unsurprisingly, they found that those with dry eye symptoms experienced worse quality of life. These effects extend beyond worse visual function and ocular discomfort to impact daily activities and work productivity for those with the most severe symptoms. The survey also revealed that those with dry eyes were also more likely to suffer anxiety and depression. The lead author of the study comments, “As well as confirming the impact on work and social lives we also discovered showed [sic] that the extent of the effects [is] consistent with the severity of symptoms. We also found that participants with dry eye disease symptoms were a lot more likely to suffer from other comorbidities...Whilst we cannot draw causal associations through this study, the presence of dry eye disease does appear to impact on an individual’s health and vision related quality of life.” Indeed a survey study design cannot untangle confounding factors that might underlie both dry eyes and systemic conditions, or naturally arise with age. However, interestingly, both groups in the study reported similar levels of screen time, though the group with dry eye symptoms also reported more exposure to environmental factors such as air conditioning, forced heating, or air pollution. Mitigating environmental factors could be helpful in addition to dry eye therapies.

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