Around 3.2 million American women aged 50 or more have dry eye syndrome, a painful and debilitating eye problem.

In dry eye syndrome, there is a decline in the quality and quantity of the tear fluid that normally bathes the eye and keeps it functioning. In the first wide-ranging survey of the condition, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital find that it is common among American women.

They looked at over 37,000 participants in the Women's Health Study. This suggested that 7.8 per cent of the US female population may suffer from dry eye syndrome. It looks as if the disease becomes more common with age, with Hispanic and Asian women being more likely to report severe symptoms. Dry eye syndrome does not lead to blindness, but it is painful and can be disabling. The cause of the condition is not known, although normal aging of the tear glands seems to be involved. It may also be linked to postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, the researchers say.

Source

American Journal of Ophthalmology August 2003