Prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction at a tertiary centre in Taiwan

ABSTRACT

Clinical relevance

Meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye disease are closely related conditions that often coexist and can contribute to the development of each other. Understanding the similarities and differences between these diseases can assist clinicians in implementing effective treatments for both conditions in a clinical setting.

Background

Dry eye disease is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface. This study aimed to evaluate the demographic characteristics of patients with meibomian gland dysfunction in Taiwan, investigate the association between meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye parameters, and estimate the prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction among patients with dry eye symptoms at a tertiary referral centre.

Methods

This cross-sectional study enrolled patients aged ≥20 years who complained of dry eye symptoms and visited a tertiary centre between September 2019 and March 2020. The patients completed the Ocular Surface Disease Index and Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness questionnaires before undergoing ocular examination. The lipid layer thickness and meiboscale scores were recorded. In addition, the study measured tear film break-up time, examined corneal staining, and evaluated the number of meibomian glands yielding liquid secretions using a slit lamp.

Results

The study evaluated 202 eyes of 202 patients with a mean age of 58.05 ± 13.34 years. The prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction was 93%. Mean meiboscale score and age were negatively associated, and tear film break-up time was positively associated with the mean number of meibomian glands yielding liquid secretions. Hyperlipidaemia and smoking were the main risk factors for Meibomian gland dysfunction.

Conclusions

The prevalence of meibomian gland dysfunction among patients with dry eye symptoms was extremely high at the tertiary centre, highlighting the strong relationship between Meibomian gland dysfunction and dry eye disease. Clinicians should consider meibomian gland dysfunction as a possible cause of dry eye.

KEYWORDS:

• Dry eye disease
• meibomian glands
• prevalence
• risk factors

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff at the Department of Ophthalmology, Tri-Service General Hospital, for their help.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data presented in this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/08164622.2023.2246129

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported in part by the Tri-Service General Hospital [grant numbers TSGH-E-110235, TSGH-E-110270 and TSGH-D-112174] and the National Defence Medical Bureau [grant numbers MND-MAB-110-030 and MND-MAB-110-020]. The funders of the study had no role in the study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the report.