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Analysis of Demodex infection rate and risk factors in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction

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Abstract

Purpose

In the present study, we aimed to investigate the positive rate of Demodex infection in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and to analyze its risk factors.

Methods

A total of 178 MGD patients admitted to the Jinan Second People’s Hospital from April 2020 to February 2021 were enrolled in the present study. All patients were examined for Demodex infection, and their medical history was collected. The positive rate of Demodex infection was calculated after the examination. The medical history, including age, eating habits, pet ownership, and so on, was collected. First, a univariate analysis was conducted to identify the factors associated with positive Demodex infection, and then, a multivariate comprehensive analysis was carried out to identify the main risk factors for positive Demodex infection.

Results

In the present study, the positive rate of Demodex infection in 178 MGD patients was 73.60%. The risk factors of Demodex infection in MGD patients were gender, pet ownership, toiletry sharing, and diabetes (all P ≤ 0.15). Age was one of the risk factors for infection [B = 0.105, OR 1.111 (95%CI 1.069–1.155), P = 0.000], and toiletry sharing was more likely to cause positive Demodex mite infection [B = 0.891, OR 2.439 (95%CI 1.066–5.577), P = 0.035]. The Demodex infection was not statistically associated with gender (P = 0.234), pet ownership (P = 1.141), and diabetes (P = 0.295).

Conclusions

The positive rate of Demodex infection was higher in MGD patients. The main risk factors affecting the positive rate of Demodex infection included age and toiletry sharing.

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Acknowledgements

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Funding

This study has not any financial support.

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Author notes

  1. Gang Ding and Yue Tan are contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, the Jinan Second People’s Hospital, Jinan, 250000, China

    Gang Ding, Yue Tan, Chenming Zhang, Yuguang Zhang & Xu Wang

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  1. Gang Ding
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  2. Yue Tan
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  3. Chenming Zhang
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  4. Yuguang Zhang
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  5. Xu Wang
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Correspondence to Xu Wang.

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All procedures performed in 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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Ding, G., Tan, Y., Zhang, C. et al. Analysis of Demodex infection rate and risk factors in patients with meibomian gland dysfunction. Int Ophthalmol 43, 877–884 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02490-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02490-4

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