Authors :
Laxman Badavath; Hephziba Mary; Kandula Suma; Prema Nishel; Eswar Kurni; Ramchandra V Shet; Dr. Anantha Krishnan
Volume/Issue :
Volume 8 - 2023, Issue 4 - April
Google Scholar :
https://bit.ly/43uxUln
Scribd :
https://bit.ly/3HfxJAO
DOI :
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7866560
Abstract :
Good tear quality is fundamental for the
health of the ocular structures that are exposed to the
outer world such as the cornea and the conjunctiva.
Deficiency of tear quantity and quality would lead to
increased infections, decreased transparency of cornea,
irritation, and in severe cases dry eye disease (DED).
Naturally a number of factors affect the production and
chemical constitution of the tear film, and gender seems
to be one such factor that might affect the tear quality,
especially in the tear fern patterns. As the ferning patters
are very much dependent of the chemical constitution of
the tear film and are susceptible to hormonal changes in
humans. Although previous studies have shown no
difference on tern fern patters between genders, but these
studies had very small sample size. So, in our study we
measured the tear break up time [TBUT], Schirmer’s,
and grades of stimulated and unstimulated tear ferning
patters for 120 participants (60 Males, 60 Females), to see
if there are quantitative difference between genders. We
found that tear film stability as measured by TBUT may
be influenced by age, but not gender. TBUT increased
significantly from young to middle-aged individuals, but
then remains stable between middle-aged and old
individuals. Similarly, the Schirmer’s test results showed
a significant difference in tear production between young
and middle-aged groups and young and older age groups,
but no significant difference between middle-aged and
older age groups. And, the tear-ferning test showed that
gender had a significant effect on tear ferning grades,
with a larger proportion of males having poorer tear film
quality compared to females. This study provides
valuable insight into the effect of gender and age on tear
film stability and production in Indian subjects.
Keywords :
Tear Breakup Time [TBUT], Schirmer’s Test, Tear Ferning Pattern, Stimulated Tears, Unstimulated Tears.
Good tear quality is fundamental for the
health of the ocular structures that are exposed to the
outer world such as the cornea and the conjunctiva.
Deficiency of tear quantity and quality would lead to
increased infections, decreased transparency of cornea,
irritation, and in severe cases dry eye disease (DED).
Naturally a number of factors affect the production and
chemical constitution of the tear film, and gender seems
to be one such factor that might affect the tear quality,
especially in the tear fern patterns. As the ferning patters
are very much dependent of the chemical constitution of
the tear film and are susceptible to hormonal changes in
humans. Although previous studies have shown no
difference on tern fern patters between genders, but these
studies had very small sample size. So, in our study we
measured the tear break up time [TBUT], Schirmer’s,
and grades of stimulated and unstimulated tear ferning
patters for 120 participants (60 Males, 60 Females), to see
if there are quantitative difference between genders. We
found that tear film stability as measured by TBUT may
be influenced by age, but not gender. TBUT increased
significantly from young to middle-aged individuals, but
then remains stable between middle-aged and old
individuals. Similarly, the Schirmer’s test results showed
a significant difference in tear production between young
and middle-aged groups and young and older age groups,
but no significant difference between middle-aged and
older age groups. And, the tear-ferning test showed that
gender had a significant effect on tear ferning grades,
with a larger proportion of males having poorer tear film
quality compared to females. This study provides
valuable insight into the effect of gender and age on tear
film stability and production in Indian subjects.
Keywords :
Tear Breakup Time [TBUT], Schirmer’s Test, Tear Ferning Pattern, Stimulated Tears, Unstimulated Tears.
