Clinical signs and symptoms in post-menopausal females with symptoms of dry eye.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize clinical signs and symptoms in a group of post-menopausal (PM) females who present with and without symptoms of dry eye.


METHODS
Eighty-three healthy PM females were categorized as being symptomatic or asymptomatic of dry eye based on their response to the Allergan Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire. Non-invasive tear breakup time (NITBUT) was evaluated using the ALCON Eyemap. Tear volume was assessed using the phenol red thread (PRT) test and bulbar conjunctival hyperaemia was measured using objective and subjective methods.


RESULTS
The total OSDI score (TOS) and subscores for the non-dry eye (NDE; n = 39) and dry eye (DE; n = 44) groups were significantly different (TOS: NDE = 7.43 +/- 7.71 vs DE = 24.87 +/- 13.89; p < 0.001). The DE group exhibited a shorter NITBUT (5.3 +/- 1.7 s vs 7.0 +/- 2.7 s; p = 0.0012). Tear volume was lower for the DE group (19.3 +/- 5.1 mm vs 16.3 +/- 5.6 mm; p = 0.031). Bulbar hyperaemia was higher in the DE group for both subjective grading using a modified CCLRU scale (48.4 +/- 10.0 vs 40.6 +/- 10.4; p = 0.0011) and objective measurement by spectrophotometer (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage u' value = 0.285 +/- 0.006 vs 0.282 +/- 0.006; p = 0.005).


CONCLUSIONS
OSDI can be used to separate PM females who demonstrate clinical signs of ocular dryness. PM women with dry eye symptoms demonstrate shorter NITBUT, lower tear volume and increased bulbar conjunctival hyperaemia than those who have no symptoms.
Centre for Contact Lens Research, School of Optometry, University of Waterloo, 200, University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. s2sriniv@uwaterloo.ca
Sruthi
S
Srinivasan
Elizabeth
E
Joyce
Michelle
M
Senchyna
Trefford
T
Simpson
Lyndon
L
Jones
D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003228:Conjunctiva / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007638:Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013666:Tears / Q000502:physiology*