Dry eye disease and psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The association between dry eye disease (DED) and psychiatric conditions is a highly researched topic. This work reviews the literature on this relationship, examining the prevalence and correlations of depression and anxiety with dry eye signs and symptoms. A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and gray literature was conducted, with keywords for dry eye and mood disorders, depression, anxiety, and suicide. Eligible studies underwent quality assessment using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Meta-analysis was performed using STATA 15.0. Fixed- and random-effects models were computed based on the presence of heterogeneity. Thirty-two studies were included, with 31 reporting on depression and 19 on anxiety. Meta-analysis results found a depression prevalence of 40% (CI: [0.29, 0.52]) in DED patients, with 1.81 times higher odds of prevalence compared to controls (CI: [1.61, 2.02]). Prevalence of anxiety was 39% (CI: [0.15, 0.64]), with 2.32 times higher odds of prevalence compared to controls (CI: [1.67, 3.23]). Depression scores were significantly higher in patients with DED in all studies. Anxiety scores were significantly higher in DED patients in studies using all scales except the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Anxiety Subscale. DED symptom scores were significantly associated with depression (ES = 0.43; CI: [0.31, 0.55]) and anxiety (ES = 0.41; CI: [0.32, 0.50]) scores. In conclusion, depression and anxiety are more prevalent and severe in DED patients and are correlated with dry eye symptoms but not signs. These findings highlight the interrelationship between these disorders and have important implications for providing appropriate care to these patients.