Thyroid Abnormality and Dry Eye Syndrome: a Cross-sectional Study from the Republic of Korea

Yeseul Kim; Jin Kwon Chung; Si Hyung Lee

doi:10.3341/jkos.2019.60.8.725

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Kim, Chung, and Lee: Thyroid Abnormality and Dry Eye Syndrome: a Cross-sectional Study from the Republic of Korea

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Ophthalmological Society 2019; 60(8): 725-730.

Published online: 20 August 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3341/jkos.2019.60.8.725

Thyroid Abnormality and Dry Eye Syndrome: a Cross-sectional Study from the Republic of Korea

Yeseul Kim, MD¹, Jin Kwon Chung, MD², Si Hyung Lee, MD¹

¹Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Bucheon, Korea.

²Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Address reprint requests to Si Hyung Lee, MD. Department of Ophthalmology, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, #170 Jomaru-ro, Bucheon 14584, Korea. Tel: 82-32-621-5053, Fax: 82-32-621-6460, sieh12@schmc.ac.kr

Received 31 January 2019 Revised 11 April 2019 Accepted 18 July 2019

The Korean Ophthalmological Society

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

To investigate the relationship between thyroid abnormality and dry eye syndrome (DES) in a nationally representative Korean population.

Methods

A population-based prospective cross-sectional study was conducted, using the thyroid abnormality data set of the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2010 – 2012. A total of 16,966 Korean participants with DES were enrolled in the study.

Results

The DES patients were predominantly women, non-smokers and non-drinkers, living in urban regions, with a low income and body mass index (BMI), and with a higher percentage of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, thyroid abnormalities, thyroid diseases, and thyroid cancers. After adjusting for all significant variables, thyroid abnormality (odds ratio [OR], 1.93; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.43–2.61), thyroid disease (OR, 1.85; 95% CI, 1.37–2.52), and thyroid cancer (OR, 2.45; 95% CI, 1.06–5.67) were significantly associated with DES. There was also a significant association between DES and thyroid abnormalities (OR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.47–2.76), thyroid diseases (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.41–2.65), and thyroid cancer (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.06–6.62) in the female group, but there was no significant association in the male group.

Conclusions

Thyroid abnormalities, thyroid diseases, and thyroid cancers were associated with DES in a nationally representative Korean population. Close evaluation of thyroid abnormalities is therefore needed when treating female patients.

Keywords: Dry eye syndrome, Thyroid cancer, Thyroid disease

Figures and Tables

Figure 1

Flow diagram of inclusion and exclusion of the study participants. A total of 13,948 normal participants and 3,018 participants with dry eye syndrome were enrolled in this study.

Table 1

Demographic characteristics according to the presence or absence of dry eye syndrome

Values are presented as weighted means or weighted frequency with standard error. Values also are presented as number (%).

BMI = body mass index.

^*^†Rao-Scott chi-square test (for categorical variables) or analysis of variance test (for continuous variables) were used; ^†p < 0.05 vs. the normal control group.

Table 2

Odds ratios for the association between thyroid abnormalities and dry eye syndrome

OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval.

^*Adjusted for age, sex, region of residency, income level, smoking status, drinking habit, body mass index, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and history of ocular surgery; ^†p < 0.05, multiple logistic regression was used.

Table 3

Sex differences in odds ratios for the association between thyroid abnormality and dry eye syndrome

OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence interval.

^*Adjusted for age, region of residency, income level, smoking status, drinking habit, body mass index, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and history of ocular surgery; ^†p < 0.05, multiple logistic regression was used.

Notes

This work was supported by the Soonchunhyang University Research Fund.

^{Conflicts of Interest} The authors have no conflicts to disclose.

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