Why the symptoms and objective signs of dry eye disease may not correlate

Cases of dry eye disease involving a neuropathic basis for symptoms and a poor correlation between symptoms and objective signs of dry eye disease can be associated with unsatisfactory responses to treatments which are limited to attempts to restore lacrimal function unit deficiencies. This review examines a wider range of circumstances under which the same kind of poor correlation between signs, symptoms and treatment results can be found. Some cases of computer vision syndrome can present for examination at times when objective signs related to reported symptoms have dissipated. A thorough history should explain this type of presentation for which symptoms might otherwise appear to be unexplained. However, mental health disorders can also be the basis for apparently unexplained levels of symptoms of dry eye disease. Anxiety, depression, hypochondriasis, stress, sleep and mood disorders as well as neuroticism for example, may be associated with exacerbation of symptoms to degrees that are not consistent with the levels of tear homeostasis anomalies that are assessed. The conclusion is drawn that failure to consider mental health comorbidities may result in symptomatic patients being exposed to less successful attempts to remediate tear dysfunctions when, for example, the symptoms have a somatic basis. Appropriate screening and referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist may be the key to managing some patients whose symptoms do not correlate with objective evidence of dry eye disease.