title: Dry eye disease in French elderly subjects: the Alienor Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe dry eye disease in French elderly subjects.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Alienor Study is a population-based study on age-related eye disease in 963 residents of Bordeaux (France), aged 73 years or more. Self-reported dry eye disease and use of artificial tears were documented through face-to-face interview. Dry eye symptoms were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire and tear film stability by tear break-up time measurements (TBUT). Definite dry eye disease was defined as self-reported dry eye, confirmed by use of artificial tears and/or OSDI greater or equal to 22.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nine hundred and fifteen subjects, with mean age of 80 ± 4 years, returned the OSDI questionnaire. Of these, 271 (29.6%) subjects reported a dry eye disease and 135 (14.7%) were using artificial tears. An OSDI score > 22 was found in 359 (39.2%) subjects and a TBUT < 5 seconds in 335/746 (44.9%) subjects. Overall, definite dry eye affected 21.9% of subjects and was more frequent in women (27.1%) than in men (13.6%). After multivariate adjustment, dry eye disease was also significantly less frequent in subjects with high educational level (odds ratio (OR) = 0.49, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.31-0.78 for long secondary school) and more frequent in subjects with ocular hypertension (OR = 1.61, 95% CI: 1.02-2.57) and those using anxiolytics (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.02-2.29).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large observational study confirmed the high prevalence of dry eye symptoms among elderly subjects and confirmed some of the previously identified risk factors (in particular female gender and use of anxiolytics).
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie, CHU de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, FranceUniversity Bordeaux, Bordeaux, FranceINSERM, ISPED, Centre INSERM U897-Epidemiologie-Biostatistique, Bordeaux, FranceMedical Writing Consulting, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malet
authors.forename: Mélanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Le Goff
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colin
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
authors.forename: Marie-Noëlle
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Delyfer
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Korobelnik
authors.forename: Marie-Bénédicte
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rougier
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Radeau
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Dartigues
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Delcourt
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D065346:Lubricant Eye Drops / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D017678:Sex Distribution; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D065346:Lubricant Eye Drops
keywords: ageing; dry eye; elderly; epidemiology