Systemic Comorbidities of Dry Eye Syndrome: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V, 2010 to 2012.
OBJECTIVE
To identify systemic comorbidities in patients with dry eye syndrome in South Korea.


METHODS
From 2010 to 2012, 17,364 participants aged 20 or older were randomly included in the nationwide Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey V. The prevalence of dry eye syndrome and demographics of these patients were investigated. We performed conditional logistic regression analyses based on age, sex, residential area, education level, occupation type, and household income level to obtain the odds ratio for each systemic comorbidity among subjects with and without dry eye syndrome.


RESULTS
The prevalence of dry eye syndrome in this study was 10.4%. Age [adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 1.02], female gender (AOR: 3.01), and indoor occupation (AOR: 1.30) were associated with a higher prevalence of dry eye syndrome and found to be less prevalent in those residing in rural areas (AOR: 0.73) and with lower education levels (AOR: 0.66-0.99). With regard to systemic comorbidities, dyslipidemia (AOR: 1.63), degenerative arthritis (AOR: 1.56), rheumatoid arthritis (AOR: 1.44), thyroid disease (AOR: 1.79), and renal failure (AOR: 2.56) were associated with a significantly higher prevalence of dry eye syndrome.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that patients with dry eye syndrome have a higher prevalence of several systemic comorbidities. A more comprehensive therapeutic approach considering the effect of systemic medication may be necessary in these patients.
*Department of Ophthalmology, Dongguk University, Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Kyunggido, South Korea; and †Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY.
Hyun Cheol
HC
Roh
Jimmy K
JK
Lee
Martha
M
Kim
Jong-Hyun
JH
Oh
Min-Wook
MW
Chang
Roy S
RS
Chuck
Choul Yong
CY
Park
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000453:epidemiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D051437:Renal Insufficiency / Q000453:epidemiology; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013959:Thyroid Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult