Purpose

This study sought to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors of symptomatic dry eye in the general non-clinical Ghanaian population.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional population-based study conducted from November 2019 to February 2020. A stratified, multistage, random sampling technique was used to select participants aged 18 years and above from the capital cities of eight administrative regions in Ghana. Symptomatic dry eye was assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index questionnaire (OSDI). A study specific structured questionnaire was administered to collect information on participants’ demographics and self-reported risk factors of dry eye disease such as smoking, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, ocular allergies, pregnancy, contact lens wear, use of topical glaucoma medication and multivitamin supplement. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore associations between symptomatic dry eye and participant characteristics. A p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

A total of 1316 individuals participated in the study [mean (SD) age 37.0 (15.72) years; range 18–90 years; 50.2 % males]. The prevalence of symptomatic dry eye was 69.3 % [95 % CI: 66.7 % - 71.7 %; mean (SD) OSDI score of 26.97 (21.52)]: 19.8 %, 16.6 % and 32.9 % mild, moderate and severe symptoms respectively. The most common ocular symptom was sensitivity to light (experienced at least some of the time), reported by 67.1 % of participants; most affected vision-related activity was reading (49.3 %); most common environmental trigger of dry eye symptoms was windy conditions (61.3 %). There was a significant positive association between symptomatic dry eye and age (p < .0001), female sex (p = .026), arthritis (p = .031), ocular surface allergy (p = .036) and regional zone (p = .043).

Conclusion

There is a high prevalence of dry eye symptoms in Ghana. This represents a high dry eye disease burden and a significant public health problem that needs immediate attention.

中文翻译：

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加纳症状性干眼症的患病率和相关危险因素：一项基于人群的横断面研究

目的

本研究旨在估计一般非临床加纳人群中症状性干眼症的患病率和相关危险因素。

方法

这是一项于 2019 年 11 月至 2020 年 2 月进行的基于人群的横断面研究。采用分层、多阶段、随机抽样技术，从加纳八个行政区的首府城市中选择年龄在 18 岁及以上的参与者。使用眼表疾病指数问卷 (OSDI) 评估症状性干眼症。进行了一项研究特定的结构化问卷，以收集参与者的人口统计信息和自我报告的干眼病风险因素，例如吸烟、糖尿病、高血压、关节炎、眼部过敏、怀孕、隐形眼镜佩戴、使用局部青光眼药物和多种维生素补充。多元线性回归分析用于探索症状性干眼症与参与者特征之间的关联。p 值为 0。

结果

共有 1316 人参加了研究 [平均 (SD) 年龄 37.0 (15.72) 岁；范围 18-90 岁；50.2% 男性]。症状性干眼症的患病率为 69.3 % [95 % CI：66.7 % - 71.7 %；平均 (SD) OSDI 评分为 26.97 (21.52)]：轻度、中度和重度症状分别为 19.8 %、16.6 % 和 32.9 %。67.1% 的参与者报告说，最常见的眼部症状是对光敏感（至少在某些时候经历过）；受影响最大的视力相关活动是阅读（49.3 %）；干眼症状最常见的环境触发因素是大风条件（61.3 %）。症状性干眼症与年龄 (p < .0001)、女性 (p = .026)、关节炎 (p = .031)、眼表过敏 (p = .036) 和区域区域 (p = .043)。

结论

在加纳，干眼症的发病率很高。这代表了严重的干眼病负担和需要立即关注的重大公共卫生问题。