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
. 2021 Nov 23;11(11):e056203.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-056203.

Prevalence and incidence of dry eye in the USA: a systematic review protocol

Paul McCann  1 , Alison G Abraham  2 , Darren G Gregory  1 , Scott Hauswirth  1 , Cristos Ifantides  1 , Su-Hsun Liu  1 , Ian J Saldanha  3 , Tianjing Li  4
Affiliations

Prevalence and incidence of dry eye in the USA: a systematic review protocol

Paul McCann et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Introduction: Dry eye is a multifactorial chronic condition characterised by tear film insufficiency and instability, and ocular symptoms including foreign body sensation, itching, irritation, soreness and visual disturbance. The prevalence and incidence of dry eye are major determinants of the magnitude of economic and societal costs of the disease. This protocol proposes a systematic review and meta-analysis of the prevalence and incidence of dry eye in the USA.

Methods and analysis: Working with an information specialist, we will develop search strategies for Ovid Medline and Embase for population-based cross-sectional and cohort studies involving US-based populations that report the prevalence and/or incidence of dry eye. We will include studies involving persons of all ages from 1 January 2010 to the current date with no language restrictions. We will also hand-search references of included studies, dry eye epidemiology-related systematic reviews, clinical practice guidelines and literature provided by agencies and organisations. Two investigators will independently screen the titles and abstracts, and then full-text reports to determine eligibility. One investigator will extract study data and perform risk of bias assessments using tools designed specifically for prevalence and incidence studies. A second investigator will verify all extracted study data and risk of bias assessments. We will assess heterogeneity, qualitatively and quantitatively. When appropriate, we will meta-analyse prevalence and incidence estimates.

Ethics and dissemination: This review does not require approval by an ethics committee because it will use published studies. We will publish our results in a peer-reviewed journal and present at relevant conferences.

Prospero registration number: CRD42021256934.

Keywords: corneal and external diseases; epidemiology; public health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

References

    1. Craig JP, Nichols KK, Akpek EK, et al. . TFOS DEWS II definition and classification report. Ocul Surf 2017;15:276–83. 10.1016/j.jtos.2017.05.008 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Farrand KF, Fridman M, Stillman Ipek Özer, et al. . Prevalence of diagnosed dry eye disease in the United States among adults aged 18 years and older. Am J Ophthalmol 2017;182:90–8. 10.1016/j.ajo.2017.06.033 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schiffman RM, Walt JG, Jacobsen G, et al. . Utility assessment among patients with dry eye disease. Ophthalmology 2003;110:1412–9. 10.1016/S0161-6420(03)00462-7 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Miljanović B, Dana R, Sullivan DA, et al. . Impact of dry eye syndrome on vision-related quality of life. Am J Ophthalmol 2007;143:409–15. 10.1016/j.ajo.2006.11.060 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Galor A, Feuer W, Lee DJ, et al. . Depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and dry eye syndrome: a study utilizing the National United States Veterans Affairs Administrative Database. Am J Ophthalmol 2012;154:340–6. 10.1016/j.ajo.2012.02.009 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources