According to the large Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) study, patients with facial rosacea and peripheral artery disease experience more severe dry eye disease symptoms.
The study, a collaboration between researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, also showed that dry eye patients with a history of smoking and systemic diseases, including Sjögren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis, were more likely to suffer from severe DED.
The long-running study, funded by the National Eye Institute, included 535 US patients with moderate to severe DED. It rose to prominence more than two years ago after reporting that omega-3 fatty acid supplementation had no beneficial effect on dry eye disease, relative to the control.
