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Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people devoted longer time to screen viewing due to the need for study, work, and online social activities, instead of outdoor activities, which may have led to an increase in dry eye symptoms. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of dry eye during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science were searched from January 1, 2020 to October 20, 2022. Cross-sectional surveys on dry eye prevalence conducted after January 1, 2020 were included. Two review authors independently performed data extraction and assessed study quality. The random-effects model was used to analyze the prevalence of dry eye, and the odds ratio was used to assess the strength of the association between variables. Subgroup analysis was performed to detect heterogeneity, the leave-one-out method for sensitivity analysis, and the Egger test for publication bias. Results: A total of eleven studies with 15692 individuals met the eligibility criteria. The prevalence of dry eye during the COVID-19 pandemic was 61.0% (95%CI: 51.8%-70.2%) globally and 56.7% (95%CI: 45.3%-68.1%) in Asia. The prevalence of dry eye had significant differences in sex and visual display time, with higher prevalence among females and visual display time of more than 4 hours per day. Subgroup analysis was performed based on diagnostic tools, study population, and average age. A significant difference was found in diagnostic tools, but no significant change in heterogeneity (P<0.05). The leave-one-out method showed stable results, and the Egger test identified no significant publication bias. Conclusion: The prevalence of dry eye during the COVID-19 pandemic is significantly higher than before, and a higher prevalence is found among females and those having a visual display time of more than 4 hours per day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dry eye disease (DED) is the most common ocular surface disease, which severely affects the quality of life. An overall estimate of the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors of DED in Asia would help in planning and implementing appropriate public health strategies. Objectives: The present study aimed to study the epidemiology of DED in Asia. Methods: A comprehensive and systematic search was performed using several databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, in January 2021. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed on logit-transformed prevalence and incidence rates to calculate pooled prevalence and incidence estimates. Meta-regression and subgroup analyses were performed to explain the heterogeneity. Results: Among the 6,742 articles identified, 23 were included in the analysis, with a total sample size of 1,488,935 subjects. Twenty studies reported the prevalence of DED in Asia, two studies reported the incidence, and one study reported both prevalence and incidence. The estimated pooled prevalence of DED in any population in Asia was 20.1% (95% confidence interval [Ozdemir et al., Acta Ophthalmol. 2019;97(1):e91–6]: 13.9–28.3%), and the incidence 16.7% (95% CI: 0–34.9%). The prevalence rate of DED in males and females was 16.4% (95% CI: 10.0–25.8%) and 21.7% (95% CI: 14.7–30.8%; p < 0.001), respectively. In general, the prevalence increased with age. The risk factors considered for specific populations were not significant, and the prevalence in the general population, excluding the populations considered at risk, was similar at 20.9% (95% CI: 12.8–32.1%). Conclusions: DED is common in Asian populations and causes a significant disease burden. Its prevalence is higher in females than that in males, and it tends to increase in severity with age. Further research on additional risk factors is needed to adequately explain the epidemiology of DED in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To provide estimates for the prevalence of dry eye disease globally and in sub‐groups defined by: diagnostic criterion, sex, geographic location and age, using a Bayesian approach. Methods: Modelling prevalence as a Beta distribution, estimates were inferred from Bayesian posterior distributions obtained by combing an uninformed prior with likelihood functions generated from all relevant studies reporting dry eye prevalence between 1997 and 2021. Results: Global prevalence of dry eye disease was estimated at 11.59% (standard deviation (SD) = 0.04). For symptomatic disease, the estimate was 9.12% (SD = 0.04), with women 9.5% (SD = 0.05) and men 6.8% (SD = 0.06); prevalence was lowest in North America, 4.6% (SD = 0.03) and highest in Africa, 47.9% (SD = 1.8). For signs, prevalence was 35.2% (SD = 0.3), with woman 34.7% (SD = 0.7) and men 37.6% (SD = 0.7); North America showed the lowest regional prevalence, 3.5%, (SD = 0.4) with Eastern Asia the highest, 42.8% (SD = 0.4). Using TFOS DEWS II diagnostic criteria resulted in a global prevalence of 29.5% (SD = 0.8), with women 28.1% (SD = 1.2) and men 24.9% (SD = 1.4). Prevalence was lowest during the fifth decade, increasing approximately linearly with age thereafter. Estimates for other categories are given in accompanying tables. Conclusion: A simple, flexible, yet powerful means of combining data from multiple sources to yield prevalence estimates across a range of circumstances is described, that is compatible with published guidelines for conducting meta‐analysis. Estimates can be readily updated as new information emerges, or according to need. Understanding the specific characteristics of studies chosen for inclusion is critical to the validity of the outcome. Although dry eye disease is evidently common, affecting about one in 11 people world‐wide, data are sparse for the young and all geographical locations except Eastern Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The present study aimed to compare the prevalence of dry eye disease (DED) among visual display terminal users using the revised and previous DED criteria., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 561 participants (187 women)., Results: The distribution of diagnostic status according to the previous DED criteria was as follows: definite DED (n = 65, 11.6%), probable DED (n = 303, 54.0%), and non-DED (n = 193, 34.4%). According to the revised criteria, 329 participants (58.6%) were classified as DED and 232 participants (41.4%) were classified as non-DED., Conclusions: The prevalence of DED among visual display terminal users has increased to 58.6% from 11.6%, according to the revised DED diagnostic criteria of the Asia Dry Eye Society.