United States of America: A study published in Optometry and Vision Science, Journal of the American Academy of Optometry, has concluded an association between dyslipidemia and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). The author discussed the association of MGD with hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and elevated serum low-density lipoprotein levels but not with reduced serum high-density lipoprotein levels.
MGD compromises or reduces the quality and quantity of meibum. Previous research has proposed the association between dyslipidemia and MGD, but the estimation still needs to be more apparent. There needs to be more data in this context.
Researchers from the University of Houston and the University of Alabama at Birmingham have evaluated the odds of dyslipidemia in MGD.
The primary purpose of the meta-analysis was to estimate the association between dyslipidemia and MGD.
Pubmed, Scopus and Google Scholar were the databases used and included studies which assessed the association between dyslipidemia and MGD, their qualities determined by Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.
The study results could be summarised as follows:
There were three case-control and two cohort studies.
The odds of hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia in MGD were 5.45 and 3.28, respectively.
The odds of elevated serum low-density lipoprotein and reduced high-density lipoprotein were 2.72 and 1.15, respectively.
The study results indicate that MGD patients should be screened for dyslipidemia.
The non-assessment for effects of gender, age, and MGD severity were some of the study's limitations.
Further reading:
Akowuah, Prince K. OD; Owusu, Ebenezer OD; Senanu, Esther Nutifafa OD; Adjei-Anang, Joseph OD, MSc. Association between Dyslipidemia and Meibomian Gland Dysfunction: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Optometry and Vision Science ():10.1097/OPX.0000000000001994, February 1, 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0000000000001994