Dry Eye in patients with Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetes Mellitus is emerging as the most common metabolic disorder in the world. Dry eye is a disorder of the precorneal tear film due to tear deficiency or excessive evaporation which causes damage to the interpalpebral ocular surface and is associated with symptoms of ocular discomfort. The manifestations of ocular surface disease in diabetes include defect in tear film quantity and quality, goblet cell loss, higher grade of squamous metaplasia and reduced corneal sensation which are affected by status of metabolic control and peripheral neuropathy.A Hospital based, Cross-sectional, Observational Study was conducted in New Delhi, India to compare the tear film changes and conjunctival impression cytology in patients of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus with diabetic retinopathy and patients of Type 2 Diabetes mellitus without Diabetic retinopathy. During the study, it was observed that the prevalence and severity of Dry eye, based on clinico-cytological parameters, was more in patients with diabetic retinopathy as compared to those without diabetic retinopathy. Therefore, management of dry eye needs to be incorporated in the wholesome approach of treating a diabetic patient.