title: Associated morbidity of blepharitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of systemic medical conditions in patients with blepharitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective observational case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the members who were diagnosed with blepharitis in the Central District of Clalit Health Services in Israel (years 2000-2009; n=16706) and 16706 age- and gender-matched controls randomly selected from the district members.
  
  
  METHODS
  Analysis of the prevalence of various ocular and systemic conditions, risk factors, age, gender, marriage status, country of origin, place of residency, and socioeconomic status.
  
  
  METHODS
  The prevalence of any associated morbidity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Demographically, a significantly higher tendency to develop blepharitis was found in populations of lower socioeconomic class, populations living in urban areas, and Ashkenazi Jews. A significant association of P<0.001 was found with some inflammatory diseases (gastritis, peptic ulcer, asthma, arthropathy, and ulcerative colitis), psychologic conditions (anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, neuroses, and depression), hormonal conditions (hypothyroidism and prostatic hypertrophy), cardiovascular diseases (carotid artery disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease), and other eye conditions (chalazion, pterygium). The strongest associations found were between blepharitis and chalazia (odds ratio [OR] 4.7; confidence interval [CI], 3.8-5.7), rosacea (OR 3; CI, 2.1-4.3), pterygia (OR 2.0; CI, 1.5-2.6), ulcerative colitis (OR 2.3; CI, 1.2-4.2), irritable bowel syndrome (OR 1.8; CI, 1.3-2.5), anxiety (OR 1.6; CI, 1.4-1.9), and gastritis (OR 1.6; CI, 1.4-1.7).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some ocular and systemic conditions are more prevalent among patients with blepharitis. Better understanding of the pathophysiologic association between those diseases and blepharitis may help in its treatment and prevention.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Meir Medical Center, Kfar Sava, Israel. nemet.arik@gmail.com
authors.forename: Arie Y
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Nemet
authors.forename: Shlomo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vinker
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaiserman
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001762:Blepharitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors