Importance: There is limited literature on oral statin use and its association with dry eye.
Background: To analyse the association between dyslipidaemia, use of oral statin drugs, and symptoms of dry eye disease (DED) among older adults.
Design: Population-based study.
Participants: Participants of the Blue Mountains Eye Study III (BMESIII), a large cohort study in suburban Sydney, aged 60 years or older (mean age = 74, range = 60-97, n = 1680) were analysed.
Methods: Information on DED symptoms and statin use were obtained from an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Serum lipid profiles were determined from fasting blood tests.
Main outcome measures: The association of various DED symptoms, as well as their number and their severity, with dyslipidaemia and oral statin intake was evaluated.
Results: At least one DED symptom was reported in 52% (n = 1029) of the population. Patients with hypercholesterolaemia (>5.5 mmol/L) did not report more DED symptoms than those without hypercholesterolaemia. Neither serum high-density lipoprotein nor low-density lipoprotein levels were associated with any DED symptoms. Patients taking oral statins were more likely to report one or more moderate to severe symptoms of DED (odds ratio: 2.054, 95% confidence interval: 1.281-3.295).
Conclusions and relevance: The association between oral statin use and presence of moderate to severe DED symptomatology is a novel finding that deserves further mechanistic and clinical correlation in order to determine its potential, or lack thereof, for the management of dry eye.
Keywords: Meibomian gland dysfunction; dyslipidaemia; hypercholesterolaemia; lipid; statin.
© 2018 Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.