The following is a summary of “Is there a relationship between the severity of disease in major depressive disorder patients and dry eye disease?” published in the March 2024 issue of Ophthalmology by Gökçe et al.

Researchers concluded a retrospective study investigating the co-occurrence of dry eye disease (DED) in patients newly diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD).

They involved 48 patients diagnosed with MDD in group 1 and 20 individuals without MDD in group 2. Psychiatric and ophthalmic examinations, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), Schirmer’s test, tear breakup time (TBUT), Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD), and ocular staining were carried out. The results were compared statistically.

The results included 32 males and 36 females, with an average age of 31.08 (ranging from 18 to 64). Group 1 had an average BDI score of 30.87 ± 8.56, while group 2 achieved a 1.3 ± 1.3 (P<0.001). In group, 128 individuals were diagnosed with DED, whereas in group 2, six subjects received a DED diagnosis. The mean Schirmer’s results for group 1 and group 2 were 10.87 ± 2.44 and 12.70 ± 2.3 (mm/5 min), respectively, with group 1 showing significantly lower values (P<0.001). Group 1 exhibited substantially higher mean OSDI scores (34.95 ± 15.8) compared to group 2 (3.2 ± 3.1) (P<0.001). No notable distinction in mean TBUT between group 1 (9.41 ± 2.6 s) and group 2 (9.8 ± 0.61 s) (P>0.05). Meaningful associations were observed between BDI scores, Schirmer’s results, and OSDI scores (P<0.05, P=0.02, respectively). No significant correlations were found between BDI scores and TBUT or MGD (P>0.05).

Investigators concluded that DED was more common in the MDD group. A correlation was observed between the severity of both conditions (based on BDI, OSDI, and Schirmer’s scores), suggesting the need for ophthalmic examinations in newly diagnosed MDD patients.

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10792-024-03050-8