Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40222849›Full record

ArticleContact lens & anterior eye : the journal of the British Contact Lens Association2025

Impact of definition of meibomian gland dysfunction on the frequency of MGD in dry eye disease from the DREAM© study.

Divya Jagadeesh, Meng C Lin, Fiona Stapleton, Jocelyn He, Gui-Shuang Ying, Penny Asbell

Abstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Contact lens & anterior eye : the journal of the British Contact Lens Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Divya JagadeeshSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney, Australia.
Meng C LinClinical Research Center, Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Fiona StapletonSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: f.stapleton@unsw.edu.au.
Jocelyn HeDepartment of Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Gui-Shuang YingDepartment of Ophthalmology, Scheie Eye Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Penny AsbellSchool of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney, Australia; Bioengineering Department, University of Memphis, Tennessee, and School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney, Australia. Electronic address: penny.asbell@gmail.com.

Funding

The Dry Eye Evaluation And Management (DREAM) Study: Coordinating CenterU10EY022879 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI MAGUIRE, MAUREEN G · 2013 to 2018
$7.3M
Dry Eye Evaluation and Management (DREAM) StudyU10EY022881 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCI CTR · PI ASBELL, PENNY · 2013 to 2020
$2.2M
Developing new methods for early detection of Sjogren's syndromeR01EY026972 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI BUNYA, VATINEE Y · 2016 to 2020
$2.0M
Secondary Analysis of Data from the Dry Eye Assessment and Management (DREAM) StudyR21EY031338 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · PI YING, GUI-SHUANG · 2020 to 2021
$448k
A Second Look at DREAM: Towards a New Paradigm in Meibomian Gland Evaluation Using Artificial IntelligenceR21EY033881 · NEI · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · PI LIN, MENG CHING, YU, STELLA · 2022 to 2023
$398k
NEI NIH HHS R01 EY026972NEI NIH HHS R21 EY031338NEI NIH HHS R21 EY033881NEI NIH HHS U10 EY022879NEI NIH HHS U10 EY022881
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeMeibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a common disease, yet there is no standard clinical definition. This study explored the frequency and characteristics of MGD in dry eye disease (DED) using different clinical definitions.

methodsA secondary analysis of data collected from the DREAM© study participants (n = 535) with moderate-to-severe DED was undertaken. Three common MG clinical features; plugging, secretion quality, and MG atrophy grade, either separately or in combination were used to create MGD definitions. The frequency of MGD, defined by the per eye findings, was reported. Demographic characteristics were compared between those with and without MGD.

resultsThe frequency of MGD in DED varied from 12 % (gland plugging, plus poor secretion quality plus gland atrophy) to 55 % (gland plugging alone) of eyes. Older age was associated with MGD when atrophy-based definitions were used (p < 0.001) but was not associated with MGD definitions using plugging or secretion quality (p > 0.05). After adjustment for age and between-eye correlations, MGD frequency was higher in women for definitions based on lower lid gland atrophy (adjusted p < 0.05). Hispanic or Latino ethnicity was more commonly associated with MGD than other ethnicities (adjusted p < 0.001), for definitions based on plugging and secretion quality.

conclusionThe frequency of MGD in DED varied with MGD definition. The highest frequency occurred where MGD was defined as lower eyelid gland plugging. Gland atrophy increased with age. The variation in disease frequency has implications for clinical diagnosis and determining efficacy assessment in intervention studies.

Indexed as

Dry Eye SyndromesMeibomian Gland DysfunctionMeibomian GlandsAdultAgedAtrophyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedTearsAtrophyDemographic factorsDry eye diseaseMeibomian gland dysfunctionPluggingSecretion

Identifiers

PMID40222849
PMCPMC12832215

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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.