Ocular surface disease in psoriatic patients in a developing country.

Abstract

To evaluate ocular surface changes among patients with psoriasis in Malaysia, a developing country in Southeast Asia. An interdisciplinary case-control study (60 psoriasis patients and 40 control subjects) to look at the differences in ocular surface manifestations between patients with psoriasis and a group of age-, gender- and ethnicity-matched healthy controls. One hundred and twenty eyes of 60 patients with psoriasis and 80 eyes of 40 healthy controls without psoriasis were included in the study. Mild-to-moderate psoriasis was found in 42 patients (70%), while 18 patients (30%) had severe psoriasis. Psoriatic arthritis was found in 19 patients (32%). Of the 60 psoriatic patients, the prevalence of ocular involvement was 65% (39/60), in which 32% (19/60) had dry eyes, 27% (16/60) had lid margin abnormalities, 33% (20/60) had cataract, and one had history of anterior uveitis. Compared to controls, ocular surface of psoriatic patients showed more eyelid margin abnormalities, higher meibomian gland loss and lower tear filmbreak-up time. The estimated odds ratio for dry eyes in the psoriasis group was 2.2 (95% CI: 0.8-6.9). Ocular surface disorders encompassing eyelid margin abnormalities, meibomian gland loss and tear dysfunction occur at an earlier and higher rate among psoriatic patients.