Analysis of Prevalence of Dry Eyes in Diabetic Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre

Abstract

Background:Dry eye (DE) is a multifactorial pathology characterized by a progressive dysfunction of the lacrimal and meibomian glands that typically lead to decreased aqueous tear production and increased tear evaporation, respectively.Hence; the present study was undertaken for assessing prevalence of dry eyes in diabetic patients.Materials & Methods: A total of 250 diabetic patients, who reported to the Department of Ophthalmology, RVRS Medical College & Attached group of Mahatma Gandhi Hospital, Bhilwara, Rajasthan (India) were enrolled in the present study. Complete demographic details of all the patients were obtained. Recording visual acuity with snellen’s chart followed by slit lamp biomicroscopic examination was done. Tear films break up time (TBUT) was done in all the patients by instilling a 2% fluorescein dye into the inferior conjuctival fornix and allowing blinking several times before stopping. A value less than 10 seconds was taken as abnormal.
Results: Among diabetic patients, prevalence of dry eyes was found to be 55.6 percent. While correlating the prevalence of dry eyes with age-wise distribution of patients, non-significant results were obtained. However, significant results were obtained while correlating the prevalence of dry eyes with duration of diabetes. Conclusion: Significant proportion of diabetic population is affected by dry eyes, with its prevalence being directly proportional to the duration of diabetes.