Coming Up Dry

A survey of adult patients with and without dry eye disease (DED) conducted by University of Southampton, UK, aimed to determine these groups’ sociodemographics and relative quality of life (1). Unsurprisingly, results showed that DED negatively impacts patients’ visual function and productivity, both at work and in other day-to-day activities. What’s more, the survey found that those affected are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression and miss more work. Comorbidities were also much more common in the DED group, with twice as many patients suffering from arthritis, hearing loss, and IBS. Based on the study, women and older people were more likely to suffer from DED.