Dietary Omega-3 Fatty Acids Supplements for Dry Eye in Psoriasis: Are they Effective?

• Main Authors: Rahul Bhargava, Mukesh Rajpoot, Yogesh Arora, Shiv K Sharma, Shalini Sharma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2017-11-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
• Subjects: dry eye scoring system; meibomian gland dysfunction; tear film break up time; schirmer test
• Online Access: https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/10799/27490-CE(RA1)_F(GG)_PF1(PB_SS)_PFA(MJ_SS).pdf

Introduction: Dietary consumption of omega-3 fatty acids has been found to be beneficial in patients with dry eye syndrome. Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of dietary omega-3 fatty acids (O3FAs) for dry eye in patients with psoriasis with and without meibomian gland dysfunction. Materials and Methods: An interventional, non-randomized, controlled, multi-center study was done. Psoriatic patients were recruited when they had either dry eye symptoms and/ or Schirmer <6 mm or Tear Film Breakup Time (TBUT) <10s. Based on the presence of Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD), subjects were allocated to MGD and Non-MGD groups, respectively (n=50 each). Age and sex matched subjects with psoriasis with no ophthalmological complaints served as controls (n=50). Subjects as well as controls were dosed with two O3FAs capsules, each containing 180 mg of Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and 120mg Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), twice daily for 3 months (720 mg of EPA +480 mg DHA/day). Evaluation was done at baseline, one, two, and three months. Change in subjective symptoms was the primary outcome measure. Change in meibomian gland score (in MGD group), Schirmer score, and Tear Film Breakup Time (TBUT) were the secondary outcome measures. Results: Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that there was a significant (p<0.001) change in symptoms, TBUT and Schirmer score in MGD (5, 4.6 & 4.6) and non-MGD (5.3, 1 & 5.2) groups at three months, respectively. Post-hoc test revealed that test parameters changed significantly at all points of time in MGD group. In non-MGD group the change was significant only after three months of intervention. These parameters did not change significantly in the control group at three months. Conclusion: Dietary O3FA supplementation for three months improved dry eye symptoms, tear film stability, tear production in psoriasis patients with and without meibomian gland dysfunction.