Artificial Tear Use as a Proxy for Dry Eye Disease: Prevalence and Associated Factors in the Hamburg City Health Study

Background: To the best of our knowledge, population-based studies about the prevalence of dry eye in Germany are rare. Our study aimed to reintroduce the topic of dry eye in the conversation about ophthalmological diseases and to analyze possible associated factors by assessing the usage of artificial tears as a proxy for treated dry eye in an older German population. Methods: For this, data were gathered from the medication plan of the first cohort of participants of the Hamburg City Health Study (n = 10,000, aged 46–78 years old). Since artificial tears are a fundamental part of dry eye therapy, in this study consistent use of artificial tears was a proxy for treated dry eye. Lifestyle factors, pre-existing conditions and other medication were tested as possible associated factors. Results: The calculated prevalence of self-reported artificial tear use in Hamburg was 4.7% (95% CI [4.2%; 5.1%]), with women being four times more likely to use them than men. Based on the definition, the prevalence of treated dry eye was 7.5% among women and 1.7% among men. A significant increase in the treated dry eye prevalence above the age of 58 was noticed as well. Conclusions: This study provides empirical evidence of treated dry eye’s distribution and identifies possible factors associated with it.