Dry Eye: Demography and Attributable Risk Factors

IntroductIon: Dry eye disease has firmly made its presence felt in our clinical practice and shows no signs of regressing. Dry eye condition takes a toll on the quality of life of the patients by its direct negative impact on their physical state of well being as well as on their social and professional life. In order to point out any prophylactic remedy or modifiable risk factor for this condition in our context, this study was carried out. Methods: This was a hospital based prospective descriptive study conducted on population attending out patient department of Nepal Eye Hospital, to study the demography of the dry eye patients and associated attributable risk factors for the disease. One hundred consecutive patients with dry eye, diagnosed as per the methodology were included in the study. Their demographic profile, clinical examination results were entered in a specially designed performa. Final data analysis was done using statistical tool SPSS version 17. result: Demographic profile revealed a female preponderance in the patients with a ratio of 2.6:1, amongst them prevalence of premenopausal age was substantial (73%). Most affected age group was between 30 to 40 years (29%). Amongst the modifiable attributable risk factors were urban residence (69%), non-vegetarians consuming red meat primarily (53%), exposure to computers and air conditioner(39%). Systemic diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and arthritis make up the non-modifiable risk factors. conclusIon: The demographical profile and risk factors are similar to those found in studies in other parts of the world. key words: demography, dry eye, prophylaxis, modifiable risk factors