Does asthma increase the risk of DED?

Researchers identified 6 studies including 45,215 patients with asthma and 232,864 control patients. The prevalence of DED was higher in the group with asthma compared with the control group.

Ethnicity, Australian, Caucasian, and Asian were associated with an increased risk of DED in patients with asthma according to a subgroup analysis.

“Our current findings suggest that asthma patients have a higher risk of developing DED than non-asthmatic patients, and this significant correlation could be observed in different ethnicities, except for Arabians,” the authors wrote. “Clinicians need to diagnose the possibility of both asthma and DED. Patients with asthma should strengthen the prevention and treatment of DED and try to avoid the risk factors of DED and iatrogenic DED, including the use of contact lenses and long-term use of visual display terminals, including refractive or cataract surgery.”

Reference
Huang Q, Zheng Y, Zhang C, et al. Association between asthma and dry eye disease: a meta-analysis based on observational studies. BMJ Open. 2021;11(12):e045275. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-045275. PMID: 34893481.