Tear film abnormalities in pseudoexfoliation syndrome and normal healthy participants: A comparative analysis.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Pseudoexfoliative material is being implicated in causing tear film abnormalities, and the aim of the present study was to prove it and to compare with the normal healthy participants. METHODS: A total of 398 eyes of 200 participants were studied, and two groups were formed. The first, pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEXS) group, included 198 eyes of 100 patients, and the second, age-matched control group, included 200 eyes of 100 participants. Tear film abnormalities were compared in the two groups by tear meniscus height (TMH), Schirmer test I, Schirmer test II and tear film break-up time (TBUT). RESULTS: On comparing the two groups using independent t-test, a significant difference was found in Schirmer test I, Schirmer test II, and TBUT between the PEXS group (Schirmer test I 23.98 ± 10.68 mm, Schirmer test II 17.11 ± 8.78 mm, and TBUT 9.778 ± 5.54 s) and the age-matched control group (Schirmer test I 27.08 ± 9.58 mm, Schirmer test II 19.98 ± 8.48 mm, and TBUT 13.495 ± 5.65 s) (p = 0.003 [Schirmer test I]; p = 0.001 [Schirmer test II]; and p < 0.001 [TBUT]). However, an insignificant difference was found in terms of TMH (p = 0.195) between the two groups. CONCLUSION: PEXS affects tear production and leads to unstable tear film.