Patient-reported burden and overall impact of dry eye disease across eight European countries: a cross-sectional web-based survey

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 13; no. 3; p. e067007
• Main Authors: Boboridis, Kostas G, Messmer, Elisabeth M, Benítez-del-Castillo, José, Meunier, Juliette, Sloesen, Brigitte, O’Brien, Paul, Quadrado, Maria Joao, Rolando, Maurizio, Labetoulle, Marc
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 17.03.2023; BMJ Publishing Group LTD; BMJ Publishing Group
• Series: Original research
• Subjects: Absenteeism; Adolescent; Adult; Chronic pain; corneal and external diseases; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dry Eye Syndromes - diagnosis; Dry Eye Syndromes - epidemiology; epidemiology; Eye diseases; Humans; Internet; Internet access; Ophthalmology; Patient Reported Outcome Measures; Patients; primary care; Productivity; public health; Quality of Life; Questionnaires; Self report; Surveys and Questionnaires; Greece; Sweden; Netherlands; Europe; Italy; France; Portugal; Germany; Spain; epidemiology; primary care; ophthalmology; public health; corneal and external diseases
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067007

ObjectiveDry eye disease (DED) is a multifactorial disease involving the tears and ocular surface. It impacts a patient’s quality of life (QoL) and ability to perform daily activities. This study assessed the burden of self-reported DED among adults in eight European countries.DesignOnline cross-sectional survey.SettingGeneral population in France, Italy, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.ParticipantsAdults aged ≥18 years with (n=6084) and without (n=6161) self-reported DED were recruited via emails and screened.Main outcome measuresAll participants completed National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI-VFQ-25) and EuroQol-5 Dimension-5 Level Questionnaire (EQ-5D-5L). All DED participants completed the Eye Dryness Score (EDS) Visual Analogue Scale, and Ocular Comfort Index and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire: Specific Health Problem questionnaires. In addition, half of the respondents with DED completed Survey A (Impact of Dry Eye on Everyday Life) and the other half completed Survey B (Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness Questionnaire) and Dry Eye Questionnaire-5.ResultsParticipants with self-reported DED had lower functional vision and lower overall health status than participants without self-reported DED as measured by the NEI-VFQ and EQ-5D-5L, respectively.Increasing self-reported DED severity as measured by the EDS was shown to correspond with worse symptom severity/frequency, lower functional vision, higher impact on work productivity, daily activities and QoL.ConclusionThis study showed that patients’ reported burden of self-reported DED was similar across the eight European countries. Those with self-reported DED reported lower health status and functional vision compared to those without self-reported DED and these parameters worsen with increasing disease severity.