Alcohol consumption and dry eye syndrome: a Meta-analysis

To quantify the association between alcohol consumption and dry eye syndrome (DES) with Meta-analysis of published case-control and cross-sectional studies.

Three databases were screened for potentially eligible studies through Nov. 30, 2015, PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library. Odds ratios (ORs) were pooled with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the relationship between alcohol consumption and DES risk. Subgroup analyses were performed according to diagnostic criteria, publication year, sample size, alcohol intake and adjusted factors.

A total of 10 (9 case-control and 1 cross-sectional) studies from 8 articles were included in this Meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that alcohol consumption would significantly increase the risk of DES (OR 1.15, 95% CI: 1.02-1.30), and the results were independent of smoking, hypertension, diabetes and thyroid disease history. And the results of subgroup analyses indicated an increased incidence of DES diagnosed by typical DES symptoms and positive objective tests together (OR 1.18, 95% CI: 1.01-1.39) among drinkers, but not by typical DES symptoms alone (OR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.94-1.32). What's more, any drinkers were at higher risk of suffering from DES (OR 1.33, 95% CI: 1.31-1.34), while heavy drinkers not (OR 1.01, 95% CI: 0.86-1.18).

The present Meta-analysis suggests that alcohol consumption may be a significant risk factor for DES. Alcohol-induced peripheral neuropathymay falsely reduce the prevalence of DES among heavy drinkers. Future prospective studies of alcohol consumption and DES risk are needed to confirm our results.