Prevalence of Diagnosed Dry Eye Disease in the United States Among Adults Aged 18 Years and Older.

PURPOSE: To provide current estimates of the prevalence of diagnosed dry eye disease (DED) and associated demographics among US adults aged ≥18 years.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, population-based survey.

METHODS

Data were analyzed from 75 000 participants in the 2013 National Health and Wellness Survey to estimate prevalence/risk of diagnosed DED overall, and by age, sex, insurance, and other demographic factors. We weighted the observed DED prevalence to project estimates to the US adult population and examined associations between demographic factors and DED using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Based on weighted estimates, 6.8% of the US adult population was projected to have diagnosed DED (∼16.4 million people). Prevalence increased with age (18-34 years: 2.7%; ≥75 years: 18.6%) and was higher among women (8.8%; ∼11.1 million) than men (4.5%; ∼5.3 million). After adjustment, there were no substantial differences in prevalence/risk of diagnosed DED by race, education, or US census region. However, there was higher risk of diagnosed DED among those aged 45-54 years (odds ratio [OR]: 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.74-2.20) and ≥75 years (OR: 4.95; 95% CI: 4.26-5.74), vs those aged 18-34 years. Risk was also higher among women vs men (OR: 2.00; 95% CI: 1.88-2.13) and insured vs uninsured participants (OR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.85-2.43 for those on government and private insurance vs none).

CONCLUSIONS

We estimate that >16 million US adults have diagnosed DED. Prevalence is higher among women than men, increases with age, and is notable among those aged 18-34 years.