Prevalence of Dry Eye Disease Among Type II Diabetes Mellitus and its Association with Glycosylated Hemoglobin in Patients Attending Tertiary Care Hospital

Introduction: Dry eye is one of the most troublesome conditions affecting the tear and ocular surface. It can cause symptoms such as ocular discomfort, visual disturbances, and tear film instability, potentially damaging the ocular surface. Dry eye is more common in diabetic patients, which may be brought on by neuropathy, metabolic dysfunction, or aberrant lacrimal secretions. The aim was to determine the prevalence of dry eye disease among type II diabetes mellitus based on Schirmer's test, tear film break-up time, tear meniscus height, corneal fluorescence staining, and ocular surface disease index scoring, and its association with glycosylated hemoglobin. Materials and methods: A hospital-based, observational, cross-sectional, and prospective study was conducted by recruiting 121 patients with type II DM aged 18 years or older. Proforma was used to collect data from patient interviews, and the dry eye was identified using Schirmer's test, TBUT, TMH, corneal fluorescence staining, and OSDI scoring. HbA1c was sent to all patients. Results: Prevalence of dry eye in type II DM was 84.30% based on the Schirmer's test, 87.60% based on TBUT, 89.30% based on corneal staining with fluorescein, 41.30% based on TMH, and 76.00% based on OSDI. Hence, the overall prevalence of dry eye in type II DM was 75.70%. Conclusion: DED was associated with an increased level of HbA1c. Hence, dry eye screening should be part of the visual assessment of diabetic patients.