Prospective, Multicenter, Cross-Sectional Survey on Dry Eye Disease in Japan

Introduction Dry eye disease (DED) is commonly encountered in eye clinics and hospitals, and it is therefore very important to understand DED prevalence in outpatients. Methods A multicenter, hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among outpatients in Japan to ascertain DED prevalence and relationships between DED and patient profiles, including eye disease, DED diagnosis history, and surgical history. DED was diagnosed according to diagnostic criteria of the Asia Dry Eye Society. Patient self-assessment of DED-related subjective symptoms was conducted using the 5-Item Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ-5). Tear break-up time was evaluated in subjective symptom-positive patients. Results The prevalence of DED was 55.7% in 990 patients (mean age 69.1 ± 13.4 years), DED was commonly experienced in combination with other ocular diseases. In revisiting patients, 15.2% had not previously been diagnosed as DED, and their total DEQ-5 scores were higher than those of patients who had undergone DED treatment. Conclusion This study revealed that more than half of the outpatients had DED. Among revisiting patients, there were many “hidden” DED patients who had not been diagnosed with DED in the past. There is a high likelihood of finding DED comorbidity in patients with other eye diseases in eye clinics and hospitals. Funding Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Trial Registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry Identifier, UMIN000035506.