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Conjunctival impression cytology and tear-film changes in cases with vitamin D deficiency

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Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate conjunctival surface cells and tear-film functions in cases with vitamin D deficiency.

Methods

Thirty-six patients with serum vitamin D deficiency and 27 control subjects with normal serum vitamin D levels were included in this prospective study. The tear break-up time (TBUT), Schirmer II test, and conjunctival impression cytology tests were performed to all participants.

Results

The mean serum vitamin D levels were 10.5 ± 5.0 µl in the study group and 33.9 ± 11.7 µl in the control group (p < 0.001). The median TBUT scores were 11 s and 17 s and the median Schirmer II values were 7.5 mm and 12 mm in the study and the control groups, respectively (p = 0.003, p = 0.049). According to the Nelson staging system, 69.4% of the patients in the study group had grade 2 or 3 impression cytology, whereas 18.5% of the participants in the control group had grade 2 or 3 impression cytology (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Our study results showed that vitamin D deficiency may lead to dry eye causing conjunctival squamous metaplasia and loss of goblet cells on the ocular surface.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Nursel Doğan, who is a clinical nurse in our department, for her assistance in the study.

Funding

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey

    Seyhan Dikci

  2. Department of Pathology, İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey

    Ayşe Nur Akatlı

  3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center, Malatya, Turkey

    Tülay Yıldırım

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  1. Seyhan Dikci
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  2. Ayşe Nur Akatlı
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  3. Tülay Yıldırım
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Correspondence to Seyhan Dikci.

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All procedures performed in the studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Dikci, S., Akatlı, A.N. & Yıldırım, T. Conjunctival impression cytology and tear-film changes in cases with vitamin D deficiency. Int Ophthalmol 40, 1687–1694 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01336-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-020-01336-1

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