Dry Eye Disease Among Patients Using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or Other Nasal Mask Therapy Devices to Treat Sleep Apnea

The Prevalence and Incidence of Dry Eye Disease Among Patients Using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure or Other Nasal Mask Therapy Devices to Treat Sleep Apnea:



Authors Matossian C, Song X, Chopra I, Sainski-Nguyen A, Ogundele A



Received 1 August 2020



Accepted for publication 17 September 2020



Published 15 October 2020 Volume 2020:14 Pages 3371—3379



DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/OPTH.S274949



Checked for plagiarism Yes



Review by Single anonymous peer review



Peer reviewer comments 3



Editor who approved publication: Dr Scott Fraser





Cynthia Matossian,1 Xue Song,2 Ishveen Chopra,2 Amy Sainski-Nguyen,2 Abayomi Ogundele3



1Matossian Eye Associates, Doylestown, PA, USA; 2Outcomes Research, IBM Watson Health, Cambridge, MA, USA; 3Medical Affairs, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA



Correspondence: Abayomi Ogundele Email Abayomi.Ogundele@sunpharma.com



Introduction: Dry eye disease (DED) prevalence is estimated at 9.3% of the US adult population, although diagnosed rate is much lower. This study examined real-world incidence rates (IR) and prevalence rates (PR) of DED in adults using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or nasal mask therapy (NMT) devices to treat sleep apnea.

Methods: Using IBM MarketScan Commercial and Medicare Supplemental claims databases, this study identified adults with ≥ 1 claim of CPAP or other NMT device between January 1, 2014 and June 30, 2018, ≥ 1 diagnosis of sleep apnea during a 12-month pre-index period, and continuous benefit enrollment ≥ 12 pre- and post-index date. The date of the first CPAP or NMT device claim was considered the index date. Descriptive analyses included PR, IR, and IR per 100-person years (100PY) for the overall population and subgroups including age, sex, and baseline comorbidities.

Results: The 1-, 2-, and 3-year PR of DED was 6.2%, 10.0%, and 13.0%, while the IR of DED was 4.0%, 7.3%, and 10.3%, respectively. Females had a higher IR of DED compared to males: 5.8%, 10.8%, and 15.1% vs 3.0%, 5.4%, and 7.9%, respectively. DED increased with age with a 1-, 2-, and 3-year PR for patients aged 18– 24 years of 2.2%, 3.4%, and 5.0% vs 17.6%, 25.8%, and 32.1% in patients aged ≥ 75, respectively. Overall, IR per 100PY of DED was 3.68, higher for females than males (5.51 vs 2.73). PR and IR of DED were high among patients with comorbid inflammatory or metabolic conditions.

Conclusion: The PR and IR of DED in CPAP or NMT users were higher than the reported prevalence of DED in the general population. CPAP/NMT users who were female, older, or had comorbid inflammatory or metabolic conditions may experience a higher incidence and prevalence of DED.



Keywords: dry eye disease, obstructive sleep apnea, prevalence rate, incidence rate, CPAP, nasal mask therapy device