title: [Lacrimal dysfunction and pregnancy].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the prevalence of lacrimal dysfunction during pregnancy comparing it to non-pregnant women and to correlate these findings with obstetric history.
  
  
  METHODS
  We interviewed 150 pregnant and 150 non-pregnant women for symptoms of dry eyes and obstetric history. Both groups underwent Schirmer I testing and responded to a questionnaire on dry eye symptoms. Patients with collagen diseases, medications associated with dryness of mucous membranes, hepatitis C infection and AIDS, previous intraocular inflammation and eye surgery were excluded. Data were analyzed by the Χ2 and Fisher tests when the data were nominal and by the Student´s t-test and Mann-Whitney test when numerical. The level of significance was set at 5%.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups did not differ in symptoms of lacrimal dysfunction. The results of Schirmer's test were equal in both groups for the right eye (p=0.3) and left eye (p=0.3). However, pregnant women had a higher prevalence of at least one dry eye (p=0.004). The occurrence of dry eye in both groups (patients and controls) was associated with a greater number of full-term pregnancies/patient (p=0.04) but not with pregnancy time (p=0.5) or number of abortions (p=0.9).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pregnant women suffer more from lacrimal dysfunction than non pregnant women; in both groups the prevalence of tear dysfunction is more elevated in women with higher parity.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Residência em Reumatologia, Hospital Universitário Evangélico de Curitiba, Curitiba, PR, Brasil.
authors.forename: Thelma Larocca
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Skare
authors.forename: Marcelo Luiz
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Gehlen
authors.forename: Danddara Morena Gonçalves
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Silveira
authors.forename: Mariana Mika de Sousa
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Uema
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence