To study prevalence of dry eyes in diabetic patients

Introduction: One of the most important cause of dry eye is diabetes mellitus. Longer the duration of diabetes in a patients, higher is the chance of developing dry eye. Level of blood sugar in diabetic patients also has a role to play in causing dry eye disease. It is seen that dry eye disease is more common in patients with poor blood sugar control. In India, not much studies has been done on dry eyes in diabetic patients. This study was carried out in an attempt to find out prevalence of dry eye in diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: Hospital based prevalence study of hundred patients with type II diabetes was conducted in SRM medical college and hospital between august 2012 and July 2013.Detailed diabetic history, slit lamp bio microscopy, Schirmers test, tear break up time, fluorescein staining, Rose Bengal staining were done, along with a standard questionnaire. Results: Forty three (43%) type II diabetes patients had dry eye in our study. A significant association is found in dry eye with poor glycaemic control [p-0.001] and with longer duration of diabetes [p<0> Conclusion: Good glycaemic control is essential to reduce the prevalence of dry eye. Examination of dry eye should be considered as an integral part in the assessment of diabetic eye diseases.