Racial and Ethnic Differences in the Association Between Diabetes Mellitus and Dry Eye Disease

ABSTRACTPurpose:To examine the association between dry eye and diabetes mellitus among a large North Carolina patient population.Methods:A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients seen within the University of North Carolina medical system between July 1, 2008, and September 1, 2017, was performed. De-identified medical records contained within the Carolina Data Warehouse of adult patients who have had an ocular evaluation were studied.Four categories of disease states were identified by ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. Patients were grouped based on being diagnosed with Dry Eye Disease (ICD-9: 375.15, 370.33, and ICD-10: H04.12, H16.221), Diabetes Mellitus (ICD-9: 250.00–250.93 and ICD-10: E08-E11, E13), neither, or both diseases. Odds ratios of the association between diabetes and dry eye were calculated for the following racial/ethnic groups: Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black/African American, Asian, and Hispanic.Results:A total of 81,480 patients were included in the analysis; of those, 8978 patien...