The Relationship between Habitual Patient-Reported Symptoms and Clinical Signs among Patients with Dry Eye of Varying Severity

To investigate symptom profiles and clinical signs in subjects with dry eye and normal subjects in a cross-sectional multicenter study. Subjects aged 35 to 65 were recruited according to dry eye diagnostic codes and telephone interview and completed the Dry Eye Questionnaire 2001, among others, and underwent dry eye clinical tests. Subjects (122) included 28 control subjects (C), 73 with non-Sjögren's keratoconjunctivitis sicca (non-SS KCS) and 21 with Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Subjects with SS or non-SS KCS reported discomfort and dryness most frequently and that many symptoms worsened over the day and were quite bothersome. Groups were significantly different in corneal fluorescein staining, conjunctival lissamine green staining, Schirmer 1 tear test, and tear break-up time (TBUT; chi2 and Kruskal-Wallis, P