Prevalence of dry eye disease in an elderly Korean population.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the prevalence of and risk factors for dry eye disease (DED) in an elderly Korean population. METHODS This population-based study in Yongin, Korea, included 657 individuals 65 years or older randomly selected from an official household registration database. Dry eye symptoms were assessed using a 6-item questionnaire, and DED was defined as having 1 or more dry eye symptoms often or all the time. Dry eye tests, including the Schirmer test, tear film break-up time measured using fluorescein, cornea fluorescein staining, and examination for meibomian gland dysfunction, were performed. RESULTS The crude prevalence of DED was 30.3%, and the age-, sex-, and region (urban vs rural)-adjusted prevalence was 33.2%. Women (P = .01) and urban dwellers (P = .001) were more likely to have DED. Of those with DED, 85.1% had tear film break-up time of 10 seconds or less, 54.1% had meibomian gland dysfunction, 39.2% had a fluorescein score of 1 or greater, and 32.8% had a Schirmer test score of 5 mm or less. A low Schirmer score was correlated with increased prevalence of DED, although sensitivity was low. CONCLUSIONS Dry eye disease is common in elderly Koreans; female sex and living in an urban region were strongly correlated with its frequency. We also noted a positive correlation between low Schirmer test scores and symptom-based DED.