J Prev Med Public Health.  2017 Nov;50(6):369-376. 10.3961/jpmph.17.089.

Are Serum Vitamin D Levels Associated With Dry Eye Disease? Results From the Study Group for Environmental Eye Disease

• Jeon DH
• Yeom H
• Yang J
• Song JS
• Lee HK
• Kim HC

• KMID: 2398224
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.17.089

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Dry eye disease (DED) is an increasingly important public health problem in Korea. Previous studies conducted in Korea have reported inconsistent results regarding the protective effects of vitamin D on DED, and these discrepancies may be related to the relatively simple questionnaire that has been used. Thus, we evaluated the association of serum vitamin D levels with DED using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI).
METHODS
The present study evaluated data from participants in the Study Group for Environmental Eye Disease (2014-2015). This group included data from 752 participants, and data from 740 participants (253 men and 487 women) were analyzed in the present study. DED severity was evaluated using the OSDI.
RESULTS
Higher serum vitamin D levels were associated with a non-significantly reduced risk of DED in the crude analysis (odds ratio [OR], 0.991; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.971 to 1.011) and in the adjusted analysis (OR, 0.988; 95% CI, 0.966 to 1.010). In the crude analysis of no/mild DED vs. moderate/severe DED, men exhibited a decreased risk with increasing serum vitamin D levels (OR, 0.999; 95% CI, 0.950 to 1.051), while women exhibited an increased risk (OR, 1.003; 95% CI, 0.979 to 1.027). In these analyses, we found no significant associations.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of the present study support previous reports that serum vitamin D levels are not associated with DED.

Keyword

Dry eye syndromes; Keratoconjunctivitis sicca; Vitamin D; 25-Hydroxyvitamin D2; Korea

MeSH Terms

25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2
Dry Eye Syndromes
Eye Diseases*
Female
Humans
Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca
Korea
Male
Public Health
Vitamin D*
Vitamins*
25-Hydroxyvitamin D 2
Vitamin D
Vitamins