Study Raises Doubt on Dry Eye Disease Progression and Treatment

Friday, January 29 2016 | 00 h 00 min | Vision Science

A new study in the February 2016 issue of Ophthalmology “calls into question the suggested tendency for DED to progress over time, but also points to possible inadequacies of current therapies.”

The retrospective study, conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health, followed 398 men and 386 women who reported DED symptoms over a duration of 10.5 years, on average. Patients reported worsening of ocular surface symptoms in 24% of cases and vision-related symptoms in 29% of cases.

Patients were more likely to report worsening symptoms if their DED symptoms were already severe, if they spent on average more than $20 per month on DED treatment, or if they had a history of blepharitis/meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD).

According to the paper, “The majority of men and women with DED recalled little or no change in ocular surface symptoms, vision-related symptoms, or the social impact of DED since diagnosis, and a similar number reported an improvement as reported worsening.”

Full article “Long-term Natural History of Dry Eye Disease from the Patient’s Perspective”: http://www.aaojournal.org/article/S0161-6420(15)01188-4/abstract