Dry Eye-Related Ocular Surface Assessment in a Pooled Endometriosis/Adenomyosis Cohort: A Real-World Case–Control Study
Background/Objectives: To explore potential dry eye-related ocular surface functional alterations in women at the time of first diagnosis of endometriosis or adenomyosis in a real-world clinical setting. Methods: This was a cross-sectional case–control study. Patients were evaluated at the time of initial diagnosis, prior to initiation of any hormonal therapy, to reflect real-world clinical conditions. Participants underwent a standardized ocular surface assessment comprising the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) questionnaire, Schirmer test, and multimodal TearCheck® analysis, including Non-Invasive Break-Up Time (NIBUT), Tear Film Stability Evaluation (TFSE), Meibography, and Abortive Blinking®. Results: A total of 71 women were included: 41 with endometriosis or adenomyosis and 30 without known gynecological disease. Patients reported significantly higher OSDI scores than controls (p < 0.05). Objective testing demonstrated lower Schirmer values, reduced tear film stability, and more pronounced Meibomian gland dropout in the patient group (all p < 0.05). Differences were consistently observed across both subjective and objective parameters. Conclusions: Women with endometriosis and/or adenomyosis exhibited significantly altered ocular surface parameters compared with women without known gynecological disease. These findings suggest a possible association between gynecological disease and ocular surface dysfunction. Greater awareness of potential ocular involvement may encourage closer collaboration between gynecology and ophthalmology in the care of affected patients.
Authors
- Maria Volotovskaya
- Carlo Gennaro
- Maria Elisabetta Coccia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5294-129X)
- Alberto Carnicci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4289-1723)
- Rita Mencucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1856-6363)
- Aurora Tenti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1212-9681)
- Davide Totaro
- Gianni Virgili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9960-2989)
- Fabrizio Giansanti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4107-2807)
- Matilde Buzzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2142-4596)
Institutions
- University of Florence (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Diagnostics
- Published
- 2026-05-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics16101524
- Primary Topic
- Endometriosis Research and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00