With a global prevalence ranging from 20 to 50%, dry eye disease (DED) is a significantly growing health problem worldwide 1. DED has been diagnosed in about 16.4 million adults in the US, and 6 million more experience DED symptoms without a formal diagnosis. DED is more prevalent in older individuals and women 1. However, it is on the rise among the young as well, and recent studies report DED symptoms in 30 to 65% of office workers 2, 3 and 25% of high school students 4, 5. DED symptoms in young individuals have been linked to the use of digital devices 6, 7 and refractive treatments, including contact lens wear and refractive laser. Also, increased awareness of the association between DED and autoimmune diseases, hormonal changes, and systemic drug therapies has increased the recognition of DED symptoms by physicians in other specialties.
Dry Eye Risk Group
Dry Eyes? out balance of tear film and proteins !
The individual assessment of lactoferrin, lysozyme and albumin could be useful in the management and monitoring of DED evolution, response to therapy (in particular, artificial tears, topical corticosteroids and cyclosporine A), and contact lens intolerance in some high-risk groups (computer users, contact lens wearers, glaucoma patients receiving chronic medication or patients undergoing cataract surgery). Levels of lactoferrin <18%, lysozyme <35%, and albumin >15% are considered critical, being unique for severe DED. The best indicator for the efficacy of a given therapy is detecting an increase in the lactoferrin levels.
