Background and Aims: This study aims to estimate the prevalence of Dry eye disease symptoms in all regions of Saudi Arabia and assess its relation to sociodemographic data and medical history. Dry eye disease is considered one of the most common ocular complaints encountered in ophthalmology clinics. It is a common condition worldwide, and the available data in the literature about its prevalence remains unclear in many countries. As per our knowledge, there is no single study in the literature about its prevalence on the country level of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A Cross-Sectional study covered all the regions of Saudi Arabia, using an online, self-administered, validated Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire. A total of 1817 adult participants were chosen by simple random sampling technique. Participants with a previous history of contact lens use or pre¬vious eye surgery were excluded.
Results: The estimated prevalence of dry eye disease symptoms was 71%. 40.3% were between 18-26 years old; both genders had almost equal participation. There was a statistically significant association be¬tween participants with a free medical history, diabetes mellitus, tear substitutes use, and high school level with dry eye. We found no association between dry eye disease and gender, age, or other medical conditions in the survey.
Conclusions: The prevalence of dry eye disease symptoms was significantly high (71%), and more than 90% of them had a severe level of symptoms in all regions of Saudi Arabia. Dry eye syndrome was sig¬nificantly associated with diabetic patients, medically free participants, and participants at the high school level. Further clinical evaluation is needed for more accurate prevalence.
Key words: Dry eye disease, Dry eye syndrome, Keratoconjunctivitis sicca, Prevalence, Saudi Arabia.
|
