Few Adults With Dry Eye Diagnosed, Treated

THURSDAY, Sept. 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Eye dryness affects many adults, but few receive a diagnosis, according to a study presented at the Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, held from Sept. 12 to 16 in Copenhagen, Denmark.Piotr Wozniak, M.D., Ph.D., from Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Poland, and colleagues examined the prevalence, impact, and perception of self- and physician-diagnosed dry eye. Phase I was composed of a survey of the general adult population with/without dry eye symptoms, and phase II focused on those with regular dry eye symptoms. The U.S. study included 2,003 respondents: 461 sufferers and 1,542 nonsufferers.The researchers found that 17 percent of the U.S. respondents had eye care provider (ECP)-diagnosed dry eye disease (DED)/chronic dry eye. Eye dryness frequently affected 50 percent (15 percent always/often); 80 percent experienced symptoms, including fatigue, itching, and watering in 98 percent of sufferers and 74 percent of nonsufferers. More than 50 percent of participants were very/extremely bothered, with the most commonly disrupted activities being reading, device use, and driving. Seventy percent of participants lacked knowledge regarding treatment options; 40 percent were unaware that other eye problems/vision loss could be caused by untreated dry eye. Routine visits to an ECP occurred rarely; about 25 percent had visits every two years or more often. Two-thirds (67 percent) and 31 percent of DED sufferers waited six months or more and two years or more, respectively, to see an ECP."We need to educate patients and the public on the causes, consequences and treatment options for dry eyes, as well as the importance of regular eye checks," Wozniak said in a statement.The study was funded by Bausch and Lomb.AbstractMore Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter