Practitioner Info
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 Etiology & Epidemiology Refractive DED CLIDE DED Therapy |
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Etiology & Epidemiology
Dry Eye Disease (DED) is a very common disease that it is often seen as a result of aging, diabetes, prostate cancer
therapy, HIV, autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's Disease and rheumatoid arthritis, LASIK
surgery, contact lens wear, menopause, and occurring as a side effect of hormone replacement
therapy. Numerous commonly prescribed and over-the-counter (OTC) medications can cause or
contribute to the manifestation of DED. As a result, symptoms of DED are the most frequent patient
complaint to eye doctors, estimated to be responsible for upwards of one third of incoming patients.
As an individual's lacrimal glands deteriorate with age or disease, the quantity of tears are drastically
reduced, resulting in an aqueous deficiency. Other forms of DED are linked to meibomian gland (lid)
dysfunction, where a patient's tears evaporate so quickly that they are unable to retain any moisture
on the surface of their eye. The end effect in both cases (aqueous deficient and evaporative dry eye),
is a very debilitating condition that results in pain, decreased vision, and in severe cases, blindness.
Consequently, DED has a significant impact to one's quality of life.
Recent studies from Harvard Medical School have reported that 10-15% of the U.S. population
suffers from DED, translating into roughly 30 to 40 million people with some form of DED, including
9.1 million people presenting moderate to severe symptoms. Due to the fact that DED is a
significantly under-diagnosed disease, it is likely that many millions of people with mild to moderate
forms of dry eye are undiscovered in the current clinical setting. DED is very common among people
over 50 years of age and women that are post-menopausal. As a result, the size of the patient pool is
expected to grow as the population ages. In addition to age-related atrophy and hormonal
dysregulation as factors contributing to DED, autoimmune diseases and iatrogenic causes may also
lead to the onset of DED.
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