Depression linked with more severe dry eye symptoms

Patients with moderate to severe dry eye disease (DED) and depression may experience more severe dry eye symptoms and signs than those without depression, according to a study.

Overall, 535 patients with moderate to severe symptoms and signs of DED were followed up for 1 year. The mean age of patients was 58 years, and the majority were women (81%) and White (74.4%).

Patients were considered positive for depression if they scored ≤42 the Mental Component Summary (MCS) of the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. Those that had depression were found to have worse DED symptoms by Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Brief Ocular Discomfort Index (BODI) and composite DED sign score. At baseline, 6 months, and 1-year, worse depression was correlated with worse DED symptoms. Inflammatory markers were not found to differ by depression status.

“These findings support consideration of depression as a comorbidity when managing patients with DED,” the authors concluded.

ReferenceZhou Y, Murrough J, Yu Y, et al. Association Between Depression and Severity of Dry Eye Symptoms, Signs, and Inflammatory Markers in the DREAM Study. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online March 10, 2022. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2022.0140

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