<p>Prevalence of Dry Eye and its Subtypes in an Elderly Population with Cataracts in Indonesia</p>

Abstract

Purpose: To describe the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) and its subtypes in elderly population with cataracts prior to surgery in Jakarta, Indonesia. Patients and Methods: Forty-nine eyes of 49 patients (16 males, 33 females; mean age: 66.6 years) planned for phacoemulsification surgery were consecutively recruited from two tertiary eye hospitals in this hospital-based cross-sectional study. Symptoms were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, and the patient was defined as symptomatic if their OSDI score was ≥13. Objective examinations included the noninvasive tear film break up time (NIBUT) and Schirmer tests. The results were deemed abnormal if they were <10 seconds and <10 mm for NIBUT and Schirmer, respectively. Results: Participants were classified into four groups: DED (positive symptoms and short NIBUT), preclinical dry eye (positive symptoms without short NIBUT), predisposition to dry eye (short NIBUT without symptoms), and normal group. Median OSDI score was 12.5 (0-45.0), NIBUT was 10.4 (5.1-28.9) seconds, and Schirmer score was 8.0 (2.0-28.0) mm. The prevalence of DED, preclinical dry eye, and predisposition to dry eye were 22.5%, 22.5%, and 26.5%, respectively, while the other 28.5% subjects were normal. The DED group had significantly lower Schirmer test results (4.0 [2-17] mm) compared to all other groups. Older age (>70 years) was associated with poorer NIBUT and Schirmer test results and a significant difference between age groups was observed, especially in males. Conclusion: Dry eye is a common problem among the elderly population with cataracts in Indonesia. Almost half of the subjects presented with dry eye symptoms and either categorized as DED or preclinical dry eye, while more than one quarter were predisposed to dry eye. Care must be taken prior to cataract surgery to rule out existing dry eye with additional attention on those presenting without any symptoms as dry eye may develop after surgery.

Ferning and Schirmer Test 1 for the Detection of Grading Severity of Dry Eye Syndrome in Post Phacoemulsification Patients

“…In this study, females were more likely than males to experience dry eye syndrome. This was in line with result obtained by Noor et al (2020) at the Jakarta Eye Center. Meanwhile, the highest age was found to be 61.3 years (50-70 years).…”

The global prevalence of dry eye disease: A Bayesian view

“…Next, a Scopus (http://scopus.com) literature search was conducted using the key words ‘Dry Eye’ and ‘Prevalence’ in the Article Title, Abstract and Keywords, to identify relevant studies published in the period after the TFOS DEWS II report, up to 4 January 2021. There were 25 of these, 13–15,42–63 making a total of 55 studies in the combined data set. The following information was then extracted from each study: Authorship and publication date Geographical region Diagnostic criteria Cohort ages Sex Reported prevalence Number with dry eye Total relevant population …”

Ocular surface health of the Finnish elderly population

“…Compared with other recent prevalence studies applying TFOS DEWS II-based symptoms and signs criteria for elderly populations, the 10% DE prevalence in elderly Finnish population seem to be relatively low. In New Zealand, the prevalence of DE reported among elderly people aged 60 years or over was 47%(Wang et al 2020), in Indonesia, among people aged 50-80 years 22.5%(Noor et al 2020) and in Palestine, in people aged 45 years or over as high as 70.7%(Shanti et al 2020). All participants in our study lived in a rural countryside community where environmental hazards are rare; this may partly explain the relatively low DE prevalence in this population.…”