Dry Eye Disease among Pregnant Women at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Kathmandu

Abstract

Pregnancy is characterized by many significant changes in a woman’s body which helps develop the fetus optimally. During pregnancy, there is marked maternal endocrine upregulation, hormonal profile modifications and interactions leading to dry eyes. Pregnancy causes most parts of a woman’s body to change, and the eyes are no exception. Dry eye disease is a common pregnancy problem that usually begins towards the end of the first trimester. Since, there is a dearth of literature on dry eye disease during pregnancy in Nepal, a study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of dry eyes disease among pregnant women and to find its association with socio-demographic characteristics and their gestation period, at Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital. A total of 84 pregnant women in different trimesters volunteered for this study. The upper and lower limits for estimated mean age were 26.67 years to 25.03 years at 95% confidence level. The prevalence of dry eyes was 89.3% by tear break up time test and 27.4% by Schirmer’s test respectively. The association between gestational age and dry eyes by Schirmer’s test was statistically significant.