Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Dec;86(12):1347-51.
doi: 10.1136/bjo.86.12.1347.

Prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye symptoms: a population based study in Indonesia

A J Lee  1 , J Lee, S-M Saw, G Gazzard, D Koh, D Widjaja, D T H Tan
Affiliations
Review

Prevalence and risk factors associated with dry eye symptoms: a population based study in Indonesia

A J Lee et al. Br J Ophthalmol. 2002 Dec.

Abstract

Aim: To determine the prevalence and identify associated risk factors for dry eye syndrome in a population in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Methods: A one stage cluster sampling procedure was conducted to randomly select 100 households in each of the five rural villages and one provincial town of the Riau province, Indonesia, from April to June 2001. Interviewers collected demographic, lifestyle, and medical data from 1058 participants aged 21 years or over. Symptoms of dry eye were assessed using a six item validated questionnaire. Presence of one or more of the six dry eye symptoms often or all the time was analysed. Presence of pterygium was documented.

Results: Prevalence of one or more of the six dry eye symptoms often or all the time adjusted for age was 27.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 24.8 to 30.2). After adjusting for all significant variables, independent risk factors for dry eye were pterygium (p<0.001, multivariate odds ratio (OR) 1.8; 95% CI 1.4 to 2.5) and a history of current cigarette smoking (p=0.05, multivariate OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.0 to 2.2).

Conclusions: This population based study provides prevalence rates of dry eye symptoms in a tropical developing nation. From our findings, pterygium is a possible independent risk factor for dry eye symptoms.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Frequency of dry eye symptoms (dryness, grittiness, burning, redness, crusting, and eyes stuck shut) in the population (n=1058 for each symptom).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of symptoms reported as often or all the time (n=1058).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Too dry or not too dry.
    Whitcher JP. Whitcher JP. Br J Ophthalmol. 2003 Jun;87(6):665-6. doi: 10.1136/bjo.87.6.665. Br J Ophthalmol. 2003. PMID: 12770956 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Brewitt H, Sistani F. Dry eye disease:the scale of the problem. Surv Ophthalmol 2001;45(Supp 2):S199–202. - PubMed
    1. Lemp MA. Epidemiology and classification of dry eyes. In: Sullivan DA, et al, ed. Lacrimal gland, tear film and dry eye syndromes 2. New York: Plenum Press, 1998:791–803.
    1. Caffrey BE, Richter D, Simpson T, et al. The Canadian dry eye epidemiology study. In: Sullivan DA, et al, ed. Lacrimal gland, tear film and dry eye syndromes 2. New York: Plenum Press, 1998:805–6.
    1. Shimmura S, Shimazaki J, Tsubota K. Results of a population-based questionnaire on the symptoms and lifestyles associated with dry eyes. Cornea 1999;4:408–11. - PubMed
    1. Moss SE, Klein R, Klein BEK. Prevalence of and risk factors for dry eye syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol 2000;118:1264–8. - PubMed

Publication types