Using the AllerSearch Smartphone App to Assess the Association Between Dry Eye and Hay Fever: mHealth-Based...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Allergology
• Public Health

Background:

• Dry eye (DE) and hay fever (HF) exhibit synergistic exacerbation via inflammatory pathways.
• Understanding the comorbidity of DE and HF is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between dry eye and hay fever comorbidity.
• To identify risk factors associated with co-occurring symptomatic dry eye in individuals with hay fever.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional observational study using crowdsourced data from the AllerSearch smartphone app (Japan, Feb 2018-May 2020).
• Collected demographics, medical history, lifestyle, HF status, DE symptoms (OSDI), and HF-related quality of life.
• Utilized multivariable regression analyses and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection for symptom clustering.

Main Results:

• Prevalence of symptomatic DE in HF patients was 49.99%.
• Severe DE symptoms significantly correlated with severe HF symptoms (P<.001).
• Identified numerous risk factors for comorbid DE in HF patients, including female sex, lower BMI, various medical histories, and lifestyle factors.

Conclusions:

• A significant association exists between severe dry eye and hay fever symptoms.
• Early detection of DE in HF patients is vital for concurrent ocular surface and HF management.
• Findings support integrated treatment strategies for managing comorbid DE and HF.