Dry eye-related quality of life among type 2 diabetes patients: a hospital-based cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Background To investigate the impact of dry eye syndrome (DES) on dry eye-related quality of life (QoL) in patients with type 2 diabetes. Research design and methods Evaluation of DES included assessment of meibomian gland function, tear breakup time (TBUT), Schirmer test, fluorescein ocular surface staining, and Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) scores. DES diagnosis was based on OSDI score ≥13, TBUT < 10s, and fluorescein staining. Results After adjusting for age, duration of diabetes, drug usage, and comorbidities, severity of DES symptomatology and signs resulted in poorer QoL of patients when comparing cases and controls. TBUT, meibum quality, and ocular surface staining were the objective clinical tests that significantly correlated with QoL. Poor QoL was also associated with the presence of eyelash and eyelid anomalies (eyelash: aOR = 2.58, CI = 1.49–4.47, p = 0.001; eyelids: aOR = 1.66, CI = 1.01–2.71, p = 0.04). Patients who had been previously diagnosed and treated for DES registered improved QoL measures. Conclusions Symptoms or clinical signs of DES resulted in poorer QoL in a clinical sample of type 2 diabetes patients, stressing the need for clinicians to evaluate such signs and symptoms in order to improve QoL.