Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with Dry Eye Disease and Corneal Surface Damage: A Nationwide Matched Cohort Study

Shih-Chung Lai, Chien-Wun Wang, Yu-Ming Wu, Ying-Xiu Dai, Tzeng-Ji Chen, Hsiang-Ling Wu, Yih-Giun Cherng and Ying-Hsuan Tai ()
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Shih-Chung Lai: Department of Ophthalmology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan
Chien-Wun Wang: Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan
Yu-Ming Wu: Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan
Ying-Xiu Dai: Department of Dermatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 11217, Taiwan
Tzeng-Ji Chen: School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Hsiang-Ling Wu: School of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 11221, Taiwan
Yih-Giun Cherng: Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan
Ying-Hsuan Tai: Department of Anesthesiology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, New Taipei City 23561, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis is potentially connected to ocular disorders, such as corneal inflammation and lacrimal gland destruction. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of dry eye disease (DED) and corneal surface damage among patients with rheumatoid arthritis. In a nationwide cohort study, we utilized Taiwan’s National Health Insurance research database and conducted propensity score matching to compare the risks of DED and corneal surface damage between patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis. Proportional hazards regression analyses were used to calculate the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the outcomes of interest. The matching procedure generated 33,398 matched pairs with 501,377 person-years of follow-up for analyses. The incidence of DED was 23.14 and 10.25 per 1000 person-years in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis, respectively. After adjusting for covariates, rheumatoid arthritis was significantly associated with DED (aHR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.93–2.13, p < 0.0001). The association was generally consistent across the subgroups of age, sex, use of systemic corticosteroids, and different comorbidity levels. In addition, patients with rheumatoid arthritis had a higher risk of corneal surface damage (aHR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.21–1.51, p < 0.0001) compared to control subjects. Other independent factors for corneal surface damage were age and sleeping disorders. Rheumatoid arthritis was associated with an increased risk of DED and corneal surface damage. Ophthalmological surveillance is required to prevent vision-threatening complications in this susceptible population.

Keywords: autoimmune disease; corneal erosion; keratoconjunctivitis sicca; peripheral ulcerative keratitis; risk factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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