Air Pollutants are associated with Dry Eye Disease in Urban Ophthalmic Outpatients: a Prevalence Study in China

Although previous prevalence studies of DED were reported from some countries worldwide, national data are unavailable in China. We aimed to conduct an up-to-date national survey on the prevalence of DED in China and find out the potential risk factors including air pollutant. 23,922 eligible outpatients were recruited from ophthalmic clinics of 32 cities in China in 2013 by registration orders. The patients' demographic characteristics, history of keratorefractive surgery, diseases and medication history were collected and the daily air pollutant data in 2013. Multivariate logistic analysis was performed to identify the potential risk factors associated with DED. The association between related factors and dry eye diseases subtypes evaluated as p value and odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Among 23,922 outpatients, the prevalence of DED was 61.57%, and that of the male patients was 57.64% and of the female was 65.32% (P