ArticleInvestigative ophthalmology & visual science2016
ω-3 Tear Film Lipids Correlate With Clinical Measures of Dry Eye.
Article in Investigative ophthalmology & visual science, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 36 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
36 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Impact of a High-Fat Diet on Eye Health.Nutrients · 2025Pooled it
- Topical Omega-3 Fatty Acids Eyedrops in the Treatment of Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disease: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Pooled it
- Omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids for dry eye disease.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- Investigating the Eye as a Biomarker of Gulf War Illness: Sphingolipid and Eicosanoid Composition in Tears and Plasma.Biomolecules · 2025Article
- Translating Biomarker Discovery: From Bench to Bedside in Dry Eye Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Epidemiology and Risk Factors of Dry Eye Disease: Considerations for Clinical Management.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2024Review
- Role of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFAs) and Eicosanoids on Dry Eye Symptoms and Signs.Biomolecules · 2024Article
- The role of sphingolipids in meibomian gland dysfunction and ocular surface inflammation.The ocular surface · 2022Review
- Dietary supplements in retinal diseases, glaucoma, and other ocular conditions.Journal of preventive medicine and hygiene · 2022Review
- A Water-Free Omega-3 Fatty Acid Eye Drop Formulation for the Treatment of Evaporative Dry Eye Disease: A Prospective, Multicenter Noninterventional Study.Journal of ocular pharmacology and therapeutics : the official journal of the Association for Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2022Observational
- Human meibum and tear film derived cholesteryl and wax esters in meibomian gland dysfunction and tear film structure.The ocular surface · 2022Article
- Human Meibum and Tear Film Derived (O-Acyl)-Omega-Hydroxy Fatty Acids as Biomarkers of Tear Film Dynamics in Meibomian Gland Dysfunction and Dry Eye Disease.Investigative ophthalmology & visual science · 2021Article
- The potential of lipid mediator networks as ocular surface therapeutics and biomarkers.The ocular surface · 2021Review
- Maresin 1, a specialized proresolving mediator, stimulates intracellular [CaJournal of cellular physiology · 2021Article
- Lipidomics Analysis of the Tears in the Patients Receiving LASIK, FS-LASIK, or SBK Surgery.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Article
- Effects of dietary high dose DHA omega-3 supplement in dry eye with meibomian gland dysfunction.International journal of ophthalmology · 2021Article
- Metabolomic Alterations in the Tear Fluids of Patients With Superior Limbic Keratoconjunctivitis.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Article
- Inflammation in Dry Eye Syndrome: Identification and Targeting of Oxylipin-Mediated Mechanisms.Biomedicines · 2020Article
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Eye Health: Opinions and Self-Reported Practice Behaviors of Optometrists in Australia and New Zealand.Nutrients · 2020Article
- Comparative lipidomic analysis of inflammatory mediators in the aqueous humor and tear fluid of humans and rabbits.Metabolomics : Official journal of the Metabolomic Society · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposeω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids modulate inflammatory processes throughout the body through distinct classes of lipid mediators that possess both proinflammatory and proresolving properties. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationship between lipid profiles in human tears and dry eye (DE) symptoms and signs.
methodsForty-one patients with normal eyelid and corneal anatomy were prospectively recruited from a Veterans Administration Hospital over 18 months. Symptoms and signs of DE were assessed, and tear samples was analyzed by mass spectrometry-based lipidomics. Statistical analyses comparing the relationship between tear film lipids and DE included Pearson/Spearman correlations and t-tests.
resultsArachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were present in more than 90% of tear film samples. The ratio of ω-6 (AA) to ω-3 (DHA+EPA) fatty acids was correlated with multiple measures of tear film dysfunction (tear breakup time, Schirmer 2 scores, and corneal staining; all P < 0.05). Arachidonic acid-derived prostaglandin E2 was detected in the majority of samples and correlated with low tear osmolarity, meibomian gland plugging, and corneal staining.
conclusionsBoth ω-3 and ω-6 lipid circuits are activated in the human tear film. The ratio of ω-6:ω-3 tear lipids is elevated in DE patients in proportion to the degree of tear film dysfunction and corneal staining. Metabolic deficiency of ω-3 tear film lipids may be a driver of chronic ocular surface inflammation in DE.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.