Low vitamin D tied to dry eye syndromes
(HealthDay)—Patients with vitamin D deficiency should be evaluated for dry eye syndromes, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases.
Pelin Yildirim, M.D., from the Kocaeli Derince Training and Research Hospital in Turkey, and colleagues assessed the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and dry eye and impaired tear function in 98 premenopausal women (50 with vitamin D deficiency).
The researchers found that patients with vitamin D deficiency had lower scores in Schirmer's test and tear break-up time test (TBUT) and higher scores in the ocular surface disease index (OSDI). Fatigue severity scale was negatively correlated with Schirmer's test and TBUT scores, while visual analogue scale-pain was negatively correlated with TBUT scores. Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire scores showed no significant correlation with dry eye parameters. Vitamin D level was negatively correlated with OSDI and positively with Schirmer's test and TBUT scores.
"Dry eye and impaired tear function in patients with vitamin D deficiency may indicate a protective role of vitamin D in the development of dry eye, probably by enhancing tear film parameters and reducing ocular surface inflammation," the authors write.
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