title: Epidemiology of dry eye disease in Africa: The sparse information, gaps and opportunities.
abstract: Dry eye disease (DED) is an increasingly significant clinical problem in developing countries and/or emerging economies. Existing studies on DED conducted in these areas have largely reported on associations between DED and infectious disease (trachoma) and malnutrition (hypovitaminosis A), but current trends of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization in these areas could result in a shift to other forms of DED. Herein, we review the epidemiology of DED in these geographic areas, highlighting potential causes and risk factors of DED while presenting information on diagnostic tools and algorithms and insight into some treatment modalities of DED that could prove useful to clinicians and investigators in these regions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surface Group, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Osae
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surface Group, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cluster of Excellence: Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gehlsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surface Group, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cluster of Excellence: Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horstmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surface Group, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cluster of Excellence: Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siebelmann
authors.affiliation: ImmunEyez Inc., United States.
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Stern
authors.affiliation: Department of Optometry and Visual Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: D B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kumah
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surface Group, Medical Faculty, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Cluster of Excellence: Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: philipp.steven@uk-koeln.de.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Steven
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes; D006801:Humans; D007638:Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: Africa; Dry eye disease; Emerging economies; Epidemiology; Industrialization; Urbanization