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Tear film osmolarity not influenced by age, gender, ethnicity, contact lens wear
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PHOENIX – Tear film osmolarity was found to be a “robust” and “independent” measure of tear film homeostasis, as well as having no association with dryness and discomfort symptoms in normal subjects, according to a study presented here at Academy 2012.
“There were no significant differences in osmolarity between contact lens wearers and non-wearers, between males and females, nor Asian and non-Asian subjects; neither was an association evident between age and osmolarity,” Fiona Stapleton, MCOptom, PhD, FAAO, one of the authors, said in the presentation. “No difference was found between right and left eye osmolarity measurements either.”
Data on 221 normal subjects were included in the study. Mean age of the group was 39, ranging from 18 to 94 years, with 67% of the patient population being female, 42% Asian and 58% non-Asian. Ninety-eight of the 221 subjects were contact lens wearers, Stapleton said.
Ten percent of subjects had a tear film osmolarity measurement of 308 mOsmol/L, indicating a possibility of dry eye for these subjects, she said.