70 percent of participants lacked knowledge of treatment options; 67 percent waited six months or longer to see an eye care provider<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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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.<\/p>\n
Piotr Wozniak, M.D., Ph.D., from Cardinal Stefan Wyszy\u0144ski 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
The study was funded by Bausch and Lomb.<\/p>\n