Prevalence, Severity and Determinants of Dry Eye Disease among Adults on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria

Introduction: The advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has markedly reduced the incidence of sight-threatening ocular complications in persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). However, there is a growing burden of ocular surface diseases, particularly dry eye disease (DED), in this population. Aim: To determine the prevalence, severity, and determinants of DED among adult patients on HAART at the Bingham University Teaching Hospital (BHUTH), Jos. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which sociodemographic data were obtained from eligible participants through interviews. Results of CD4 count and viral load were retrieved from patients’ records. A diagnosis of DED was made based on an ocular surface disease index score ≥13, confirmed by a monocular Schirmer 1 test ≤ 15 mm/5 min. Data were managed using IBM-SPSS (version 25). Data from the right eye were used for all analyses. Results: A total of 110 patients were recruited with a mean age of 48.5 (±10.0) years, a male-to-female ratio of 1:2.4, and a mean duration of therapy of 13.1 (±5.5) years. DED was detected in 38 eyes, giving a prevalence of 34.5%. Mild and moderate disease were detected in 16 (42.1%) eyes each, and severe disease in 6 (15.8) eyes. Older age ( P = 0.036) and male gender ( P = 0.002) were the only determinants of DED identified. Conclusion: The prevalence of DED among adult patients on HAART at the BHUTH was found to be high. Hence, there is a need to consider routine DED assessment for persons living with HIV to improve their quality of life.