Relation of Dietary Fatty Acids and Vitamin D to the Prevalence of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction in Japanese Adults: The Hirado-Takushima Study.

Shima Fukuoka,Takashi Suzuki,Motoko Kawashima,Takanori Mizoguchi,Satoshi Sasaki,Shizuka Koh,Rika Shirakawa,Naoyuki Morishige,Reiko Arita

doi:10.3390/jcm10020350

Abstract

Intervention studies have shown that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) supplementation is effective for the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Ointment containing an analog of vitamin D has also been found to improve symptoms and signs of MGD. We have now evaluated the relation of MGD prevalence to dietary intake of fatty acids (FAs) and vitamin D among a Japanese population. Subjects comprised 300 adults aged 20 to 92 years residing on Takushima Island. MGD was diagnosed on the basis of subjective symptoms, lid margin abnormalities, and meibomian gland obstruction. Dietary FA and vitamin D intake was estimated with a brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. MGD prevalence was 35.3%. Multivariate adjusted odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) between extreme quintiles of intake for MGD prevalence were 0.40 (0.16–0.97) for total fat, 0.40 (0.17–0.97) for saturated FAs, 0.40 (0.17–0.97) for oleic acid, 0.52 (0.23–1.18) for n-3 PUFAs, 0.63 (0.27–1.49) for n-6 PUFAs, 1.32 (0.59–2.95) for the n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio, and 0.38 (0.17–0.87) for vitamin D. Total fat, saturated FA, oleic acid, and vitamin D intake may thus be negatively associated with MGD prevalence in the Japanese.

Highlights

The results revealed that saturated fatty acids (SFAs) intake was inversely associated with Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) prevalence (p for trend = 0.020, Model 2) among adult residents of Takushima Island, and that the highest quintiles for dietary intake of total fat, SFAs, oleic acid, and vitamin D were significantly associated with a lower prevalence of MGD
We found that the multivariate adjusted odds ratio (OR) for the prevalence of MGD and the fifth quintiles of total fat or SFAs in Model 2 was 0.40 (0.16–0.97) and 0.40 (0.17–0.97), respectively, suggesting that a high intake of total fat and SFAs might protect against MGD
We have performed a population-based study to assess the relationship between dietary intake of fatty acids and vitamin D and the prevalence of MGD among residents of Takushima Island, Japan

Summary

Introduction

The ocular surface is covered and protected by the tear film comprised of lipid, aqueous, and mucin layers. Meibum forms the lipid layer of the tear film, which plays an important role in the stabilization of the tear film [3,4] and prevents excessive evaporation of tear fluid [5]. MGD is associated with tear film instability as a result of deficiency of the lipid layer. MGD is a major cause of dry eye disease—in particular, of evaporative dry eye [6,7,8]. Populationbased studies have revealed prevalence rates for MGD ranging from 38% to 68% among individuals over the age of 40 years [9]. We previously found that the prevalence of symptomatic MGD was 32.9% among Japanese individuals aged 6 years or older and

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion