Background : Dry eye is a disorder of the tear film caused by reduced tear production or excessive tear evaporation.
A high incidence of sicca symptoms has been noted in fibromyalgia (FM) patients resulting in serious complications.
This study was conducted to evaluate the incidence of dry eye by pathogenic mechanisms and to investigate the
relationship between dry eye and symptom severity in FM patients.
Methods : Fifty patients that visited Maryknoll Hospital between March 2006 and December 2006 were included in
the study. Enrolled patients underwent a Korean fibromyalgia impact questionnaire (KFIQ), ocular surface disease index
(OSDI), Schirmer test and tear break up test (TBUT). The KFIQ and OSDI are used to assess the severity of
fibromyalgia symptoms and dry eye symptoms, respectively. The Schirmer test and TBUT are used to assess reduced
tear production and excessive tear evaporation, respectively. We assessed the OSDI, Schirmer test, TBUT, age and
disease duration in terms of the KFIQ.
Results : The incidence of dry eye was high in FM patients (12.0% by the Schirmer test and 92.0% by the TBUT
test). The OSDI positively correlated with the KFIQ (p=0.006). A positive correlation was observed between the Schirmer
test and the KFIQ (p=0.024), but not between the TBUT and the KFIQ.
Conclusions : In this study, dry eye was found to be common in FM patients. Excessive tear evaporation was a more
common cause of dry eye than reduced tear production. The patients with more severe dry eye symptoms tend to have
more severe FM symptoms.(Korean J Med 73:519-524, 2007)
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