Original article
Dry Eye in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Health-Related Quality of Life

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajo.2013.12.023Get rights and content

Purpose

To estimate dry eye prevalence in the Beaver Dam Offspring Study (BOSS), including a young adult population, and investigate associated risk factors and impact on health-related quality of life.

Methods

The BOSS (2005-2008) is a study of aging in the adult offspring of the population-based Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study cohort. Questionnaire data on health history, medication use, risk factors, and quality of life were available for 3275 participants. Dry eye was determined by self-report of frequency of symptoms and the intensity of those symptoms. Associations between dry eye and risk factors were analyzed using logistic regression.

Results

The prevalence of dry eye in the BOSS was 14.5%: 17.9% of women and 10.5% of men. In a multivariate model, statistically significant associations were found with female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.33-2.11), current contact lens use (OR, 2.01; 95% CI, 1.53-2.64), allergies (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.22-2.08), arthritis (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.12-1.85), thyroid disease (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.02-1.99), antihistamine use (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.18-2.02), and steroid use (OR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.16-2.06). Dry eye was also associated with lower scores on the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (β = −3.9, P < .0001) as well as on the National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) (β = −3.4, P < .0001) when controlling for age, sex, and comorbid conditions.

Conclusions

The prevalence of dry eye and its associated risk factors in the BOSS were similar to previous studies. In this study, dry eye was associated with lower quality of life on a health-related quality-of-life instrument and the vision-specific NEI VFQ-25.

Section snippets

Methods

The Beaver Dam Offspring Study (BOSS) is an ongoing cohort study of aging in the adult children of the population-based Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study (EHLS). Baseline examinations of BOSS participants (n = 3285), aged 21-84 years, took place between 2005 and 2008. Information on symptoms of dry eye was provided by 3275 participants. The BOSS was approved by the Health Sciences Institutional Review Board of the University of Wisconsin, all participants provided written informed consent, and

Prevalence

The mean age of the 3275 participants was 49 years (range 21-84 years), 1789 participants (54.6%) were female, and 2271 (69.3%) had higher than a high school education (Table 1). The prevalence of dry eye symptoms was 14.5% overall (14.1% in those aged 21-49 years, 15.2% in those 50 and older) and was significantly higher in women than in men (17.9% vs 10.5%, P < .0001). Although a slight increase in prevalence of dry eye symptoms was observed by age, this trend for the population overall did

Discussion

Few studies have investigated the prevalence of and risk factors for dry eye among adults younger than 50 years of age. In the BOSS cohort, which includes young adults, dry eye symptoms were relatively common and had a significant impact on health-related quality of life. Prevalence in the BOSS was 14.1% among those aged 21-49 years, 15.2% among those 50 years of age and older, and 14.5% overall. The overall estimate falls in the range of the prevalence rates reported in previous studies.3, 9

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