Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey

Aim. Multisystemic physiological changes in pregnancy can result in tear film and refractive changes in the eye. We report dry eye prevalence in pregnant women using Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) questionnaire. Methods. The SPEED questionnaire was self-administered cross-section...

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Main Authors: Divya Anantharaman, Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan, Vidhyalakshmi Anantharaman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-01-01
Series:Journal of Pregnancy
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/3421269
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author Divya Anantharaman
Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan
Vidhyalakshmi Anantharaman
author_facet Divya Anantharaman
Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan
Vidhyalakshmi Anantharaman
author_sort Divya Anantharaman
collection DOAJ
description Aim. Multisystemic physiological changes in pregnancy can result in tear film and refractive changes in the eye. We report dry eye prevalence in pregnant women using Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) questionnaire. Methods. The SPEED questionnaire was self-administered cross-sectionally to 428 pregnant women (mean age: 26.8±4.4 years) with clinically confirmed pregnancy from two obstetric clinics in Chennai, India. Subjects with predisposing risk factors for dry eye were excluded from the study. Subjects were categorized as normal, moderate, and severe dry eye based on the SPEED score. Results. Among the women, 48.5% of the subjects had symptoms like dryness, grittiness or scratchiness, soreness or irritation, burning or watering, or eye fatigue. About 2.3% had moderate dry eye according to SPEED questionnaire criteria. Eye fatigue was the most reported symptom and was present in 76.4% of women. The symptom frequency score and severity score had a strong and significant correlation (r=0.95, P<.001). No significant correlation was noted among SPEED score vs age (r=−0.02, P>.05). No significant correlation was found between symptoms of dry eye and gravidity (ρ=−0.006, P>.05) and trimester (ρ=0.38, P>.05). Binary logistic regression showed that only occupational status and systemic condition was significantly associated with dry eye symptoms. Conclusion. About half the pregnant women at the visit reported having one or more dry eye-related symptoms. As per the composite SPEED questionnaire score, dry eye was not prevalent among pregnant women irrespective of their age, gravidity, and the trimester, but we found a majority of pregnant women reported to have experienced dry eye-related symptoms, though tolerable. Awareness about dry eye during pregnancy will improve eye care seeking behaviour in pregnant women.
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spelling doaj-art-00990fc41b5341228b7fb448a24eeb3c2025-08-20T03:16:51ZengWileyJournal of Pregnancy2090-27352023-01-01202310.1155/2023/3421269Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED SurveyDivya Anantharaman0Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan1Vidhyalakshmi Anantharaman2Department of Ophthalmology - OptometryDepartment of Ophthalmology - OptometryDepartment of Ophthalmology - OptometryAim. Multisystemic physiological changes in pregnancy can result in tear film and refractive changes in the eye. We report dry eye prevalence in pregnant women using Standard Patient Evaluation of Eye Dryness (SPEED) questionnaire. Methods. The SPEED questionnaire was self-administered cross-sectionally to 428 pregnant women (mean age: 26.8±4.4 years) with clinically confirmed pregnancy from two obstetric clinics in Chennai, India. Subjects with predisposing risk factors for dry eye were excluded from the study. Subjects were categorized as normal, moderate, and severe dry eye based on the SPEED score. Results. Among the women, 48.5% of the subjects had symptoms like dryness, grittiness or scratchiness, soreness or irritation, burning or watering, or eye fatigue. About 2.3% had moderate dry eye according to SPEED questionnaire criteria. Eye fatigue was the most reported symptom and was present in 76.4% of women. The symptom frequency score and severity score had a strong and significant correlation (r=0.95, P<.001). No significant correlation was noted among SPEED score vs age (r=−0.02, P>.05). No significant correlation was found between symptoms of dry eye and gravidity (ρ=−0.006, P>.05) and trimester (ρ=0.38, P>.05). Binary logistic regression showed that only occupational status and systemic condition was significantly associated with dry eye symptoms. Conclusion. About half the pregnant women at the visit reported having one or more dry eye-related symptoms. As per the composite SPEED questionnaire score, dry eye was not prevalent among pregnant women irrespective of their age, gravidity, and the trimester, but we found a majority of pregnant women reported to have experienced dry eye-related symptoms, though tolerable. Awareness about dry eye during pregnancy will improve eye care seeking behaviour in pregnant women.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/3421269
spellingShingle Divya Anantharaman
Aiswaryah Radhakrishnan
Vidhyalakshmi Anantharaman
Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
Journal of Pregnancy
title Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
title_full Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
title_fullStr Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
title_full_unstemmed Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
title_short Subjective Dry Eye Symptoms in Pregnant Women–A SPEED Survey
title_sort subjective dry eye symptoms in pregnant women a speed survey
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2023/3421269
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