Temperature, Humidity and Regional Prevalence of Dry Eye Disease in Argentina.

Background and

Objectives

To evaluate whether regional climatic factors, particularly relative humidity (RH) and temperature, are associated with geographic variation in dry eye disease (DED) prevalence in Argentina. Materials and

Methods

A secondary analysis of a nationwide voluntary online cross-sectional survey of DED in Argentina (April 2022; non-probability sample; n = 10,812) was performed. Participants were assigned to one of five standard geopolitical regions. DED prevalence (%) was estimated at regional levels. Monthly mean, maximum, and minimum temperature and RH for April 2022 were obtained from the National Meteorological Service; for each province/region, data corresponded to the principal synoptic station in the provincial capital. Because the survey and climate data were restricted to April, seasonal effects could not be evaluated. Region-level analyses of climate-DED patterns were prespecified as exploratory and descriptive given the small number of regional units (n = 5). Weighted descriptive models were used to compare RH-DED patterns while accounting for regional age and sex distributions.

Results

Regional DED prevalence ranged from 37.7% (Northwest) to 49.8% (Cuyo). RH showed a clear inverse pattern with regional DED prevalence, whereas temperature showed no consistent relationship. Weighted descriptive models showed a similar qualitative RH-DED pattern, although residual confounding cannot be excluded.

Conclusions

DED prevalence in Argentina shows geographic variability and a descriptive inverse pattern with ambient RH. These ecological findings are hypothesis-generating and must be interpreted cautiously due to sampling bias. Future seasonal, longitudinal, or individual-level studies are needed to confirm and quantify these preliminary signals.