Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the tear film and ocular surface that leads to a significant loss of quality of life for individuals and incurs costs for society. It is considered one of the four most common eye disorders. International epidemiological studies report prevalence rates ranging from 11 to 36 percent, depending on the population studied.
In the Level-3 project Epidemiology of Dry Eye in Germany I (Dry-Eye I), 5,000 participants from the Düsseldorf subcohort of the German National Cohort (NAKO) are asked four questions to determine the prevalence of dry eye and to evaluate associations with other diseases and potential risk factors. Three of these questions were previously used in a large epidemiological study (the Women’s Health Study) in the USA to assess the frequency of dry eye. These questions are validated and focus on the presence of symptoms. The fourth question aims to capture participants’ treatment history.
