The correlation between vitamin D deficiency with tear film break-up time in patients with dry eye syndrome
Abstract
Dry eye syndrome (DES) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the ocular surface. Vitamin D (V-D) is a multifunctional hormone, and its roles are calcium metabolism and bone health, it is anti-inflammatory, has immune-regulatory properties and has been suggested to be a contributory factor in DES. The study aimed to determine the correlation between vitamin D deficiency and the magnitude of dry eye syndrome. A prospective comparison study was conducted from October 2022 to May 2023, enrolling 100 (200 eyes) cases of dry eye symptoms. Patients were subjected to the following examinations: slit-lamp examination, non-contact tonometry, fundus examination with 90D as a routine examination, and TBUT. Blood collected as five ml of venous blood drawn from them. The kit used is Elecsys Vitamin D kit. Tear film break-up time (TBUT) values (7 seconds) and (8 seconds) were more prevalent at 35% and 37%, respectively. V-D (ng/ml) concentration was deficient in 32%. V-D deficient was found to be more in TBUT value (5 seconds) as (21%), with a high statistically significant difference (p<0.0001). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the association of V-D levels in patients with DES. Female gender, greater BMI, and elderly are the strongest risk factors for DES. Patients with dry eye symptoms have shorter TBUT values. The higher the V-D deficiency, the shorter the TBUT values, and the more severe the DES. V-D deficiency is a strong predictor for the development of DES. The V-D has a proportional relationship with TBUT values.