title: Dryness symptoms among an unselected clinical population with and without contact lens wear.
abstract: Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ) and Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire (CLDEQ) from unselected eye care patients (including current, former and non-contact lens wearers) were analyzed to contrast dryness symptoms among patients with and without contact lenses. Contact lens wearers reported a higher incidence of intense symptoms, especially late in the day (12.7% AM versus 41.1% PM, p < 0.0001), that diminished when they removed lenses (p = 0.0001). Dryness intensity was not correlated with gender and was inversely correlated with age among contact lens wearers, differing significantly from the pattern among non-lens wearers. Contact lens related dryness differs from dry eye among non-lens wearers.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University, School of Optometry, Bloomington, USA. robinchamloers@mindspring.com
authors.forename: Robin L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Chalmers
authors.forename: Carolyn G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Begley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003261:Contact Lenses / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology