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Study: Reducing cholesterol intake can decrease dry eye symptoms

TAMPA – Dry eye patients who increased their dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids and decreased their intake of saturated fat and cholesterol had fewer symptoms of the disease, according to a poster presented by Hanna Bartlett, MCOptom, PhD, MHEA, FAAO, here at the American Academy of Optometry meeting.

Dr. Bartlett and colleagues had 91 dry eye patients fill out a 3-day food diary and answer questions about their dry eye symptoms. The patients were divided into contact lens wearers and non-contact lens wearers.

In the contact lens wearers, “those reporting ‘dryness frequently’ consumed significantly more cholesterol than those reporting ‘dryness occasionally,’” according to the abstract. “There was a similar relationship between scratchiness symptoms and cholesterol, with those who frequently experienced scratchiness consuming significantly more cholesterol than those who reported scratchiness occasionally, rarely or never.”

The non-contact lens wearers who consumed more omega-3 fatty acids experienced less dryness and scratchiness as well, the study found.