Correction: Dry eye, its clinical subtypes and associated factors in healthy pregnancy: A cross-sectional study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258233.].

Posterior Blepharitis and Associated Potential Factors: A Study among Pregnant Women.

PURPOSE: This study evaluates in a cross-section of pregnant women the frequency of posterior blepharitis, its predisposing factors and how lipid profile impacts the occurrence of posterior blepharitis in pregnancy. METHODS: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of pregnant women. RESULTS: In this study, 201 pregnant women were recruited and included in the study's analysis. The participants' mean age was 29.96 (±4.74) years, with a median age of 30 and a range of 17 to 40 years. The frequency of posterior blepharitis among this cohort was 13.4% (95% confidence interval, 9.0% to 18.4%). The frequencies of MGD-associated posterior blepharitis and non-MGD associated posterior blepharitis were 6.0% and 7.4%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean fluorescein tear breakup time and SPEED scores between non-MGD associated posterior blepharitis and MGD-associated posterior blepharitis, however, the mean tear breakup time(t = 3.999, p < .001) and SPEED scores (t = 6.76, p < .0001) showed a statistically significant difference in posterior blepharitis pregnant women compared to non-posterior blepharitis pregnant women. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean corneal staining scores between non-MGD-associated posterior blepharitis and MGD-associated posterior blepharitis (t = 3.99, p = .001). There was no association between lipid profile and posterior blepharitis in binary logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: The study showed that posterior blepharitis occurs in pregnancy, but it is not associated with cholesterol levels.

Prevalence and risk factors for Falls among older adults in a primary care facility in Ghana.

Background: Falls are a serious problem and are among the leading causes of morbidity, functional dependency, and death in older adults. Falls have become a social and global public health concern due to the current aging population in Africa and across the globe. However, their prevalence and risk factors have received little attention in Africa. Purpose: Thus, this study aimed to provide a baseline survey to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for falls among older adults attending a primary care facility in Cape Coast, Ghana. Results: Participants (n = 244) were patients aged 60 years and older who visited the University of Cape Coast Hospital. The prevalence of falls identified in this hospital-based study was 40.2%. The following independent variables were found to be statistically significant predictors of risk of falls among the participants when compared with their respective reference categories; age 80 years and above [OR = 3.707, 95% CI = 1.738 - 7.907, p = 0.001], participants who had a history of falls [OR = 2.234, 95% CI = 1.326 - 3.765, p = 0.003], participants with three or more co-morbidities [OR = 16.456, 95% CI = 2.099 - 129.020, p = 0.008] and obesity [OR = 2.211, 95% CI = 1.151 - 4.250, p = 0.017]. Conclusion: The prevalence of falls among older adults is high. Thus, clinicians in the primary care setting should screen for, give fall prevention education, and prescribe appropriate interventions to at-risk patients.

Dry eye, its clinical subtypes and associated factors in healthy pregnancy: A cross-sectional study.

The study determined the frequency of dry eye, its clinical subtypes and risk factors among pregnant women. This study was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of pregnant women visiting the antenatal clinic of the University of Cape Coast hospital. Clinical dry eye tests were performed along with the administration of a symptom questionnaire. Frequencies, chi-square analysis and logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the frequency of dry eye disease, its clinical subtypes and associated factors. The prevalence of dry eye disease among the cohort of pregnant women was 82/201 (40.8% 95% confidence interval 34.3%-47.3%). Among the 82 pregnant women with dry eye disease, the frequencies of the clinical subtypes of dry eye were: evaporative dry eye [15/82(18.3%; 95% CI, 12.2%-25.2%)], aqueous deficient dry eye [10/82(12.2.%; 95% CI, 7.3%-18.3)], mixed dry eye [6/82(7.3%; 95% CI, 3.7%-11.0%)], and unclassified dry eye [51/82(62.2%; 95% CI, 52.4%-72.0%)]. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that the following factors were not significantly associated with dry eye: age, BMI, lipid profile, prolactin level, testosterone level, ocular protection index and blink rate. Only gestational age was significantly associated with dry eye disease in pregnancy. In conclusion, the current study showed that dry eye disease occurs frequently in pregnant women ranging from the first to the third trimester and it is associated with increasing gestational age. The evaporative dry eye was more common compared to the aqueous deficient dry eye, but most dry eye could not be classified.

Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Lipid Profile: A Study Among Pregnant Women.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to estimate the frequency of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and its associated factors among pregnant women. METHODS: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of consecutive pregnant women visiting the University of Cape Coast hospital's antenatal clinic. Meibomian gland assessment and tear function test were performed along with the administration of a symptom questionnaire. Correlation, analysis of variance, and logistic regression analyses were used to examine predictors of MGD. RESULTS: All 201 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria and gave informed consent were included in the study. The mean age of the entire sample was 29.96 (±4.74) years. The frequency of MGD among the cohort of pregnant women was 22.9% (95% confidence interval, 17.4%-28.9%). Univariate logistic regression revealed that the following factors were significantly associated with MGD: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (odds ratio [OR] 1.017; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.001-1.034; P=0.042), total cholesterol (TC) (OR 1.009; 95% CI, 1.003-1.016; P=0.006), and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) (OR 1.008; 95% CI, 1.00-1.016; P=0.049). In multivariate analysis, the model confirmed that MGD was not significantly associated with TC, LDL, and HDL. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, this study showed a high frequency of MGD in pregnant women but comparable with that reported in the normal population. Clinicians examining pregnant women for dry eye disease may need to pay attention to other causative instigators aside MGD to enable the clinicians to make an appropriate etiology-based diagnosis.

Impact of Serum Prolactin and Testosterone Levels on the Clinical Parameters of Dry Eye in Pregnant Women.

PURPOSE: To explore the relationship between serum prolactin, testosterone level, and tear film parameters. The potential impact of these hormones on the health of the ocular surface in pregnant women was evaluated. METHODS: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study in which ocular symptoms (Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI)), tear function (fluorescein tear breakup time, Schirmer's test 1), corneal and conjunctival staining, meibomian gland (MG) expressibility, and quality of secretion were measured. Lid margin findings including lid notching, thickness, and lid margin telangiectasia were also recorded. Venous blood was collected and the serum concentrations of prolactin and testosterone were determined using ELISA kits. Correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine predictors of dry eye symptoms and signs. RESULTS: A total of 160 pregnant women participated in the study and their mean age was 30.1 ± 4.6 years (range 18-42 years). The correlation analysis indicated that testosterone concentration did not significantly correlate with any of the clinical parameters hence it was not included in the linear regression analysis. However, prolactin serum concentration correlated significantly with Schirmer's test 1. Multiple linear regression was done to predict participants' Schirmer's test 1 score based upon their ocular surface staining score (oxford grading scale), meibomian gland expressibility, meibomian secretion quality, and serum concentration of prolactin. Only predictors that significantly correlated with Schirmer's test 1 in the correlation analysis were included in the linear regression analysis. A significant regression equation was obtained (F (2, 157) = 5.119, p=0.007) with an R square of 0.05. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that concentration of prolactin (ß coefficient = 0.032, p=0.044) and meibomian gland expressibility scores (ß coefficient = 2.14, p=0.016) were associated with Schirmer's test 1 scores when adjusted for duration of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: The study showed that increased serum prolactin levels have a weak but positive impact on Schirmer's test 1 scores whilst serum testosterone level has no association with the clinical parameters of dry eye in pregnant women.

A case of leukemic retinopathy mimicking common ischemic retinopathies.

Reported case of leukemic retinopathy mimicking common ischemic retinopathies in a young adult where ophthalmic visit was the first step to the diagnosis of chronic myeloid leukemia. It highlights the importance of routine eye exams and that clinicians should suspect leukemia in an otherwise healthy patient presenting with ischemic retinopathy.