Title
Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and tear-film stability in dry eye disease: A case-control correlation study
Authors
Anjali Singh1,*, Pankaj Kushwaha1 & Pankaj Kumar Sharma2
Affiliation
1Department of Ophthalmology, Chhindwara Institute of Medical Sciences, Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, India; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Sadguru Sankalp Netra Chikitsalaya (SSNC) - Anandpur, Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India; *Corresponding author
Anjali Singh - E-mail: anjalibitiya07@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8617716392
Pankaj Kushwaha - E-mail: pankaj205020kushwaha@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8965003887
Pankaj Kumar Sharma - E-mail: pks07071987@gmail.com; Phone: +91 8770326952
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received April 1, 2026; Revised April 30, 2026; Accepted April 30, 2026, Published April 30, 2026
Abstract
Dry eye disease (DED) involves tear film instability, driving symptoms and epithelial damage, with emerging evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to ocular surface inflammation. Therefore, it is of interest to compare serum 25(OH) D levels and tear parameters in 300 DED eyes (150 patients) versus 270 control eyes (135 matched subjects) at a tertiary center (2022-2024). DED patients showed severe deficiency (mean 13.79±9.36 ng/mL vs 38.13±18.76 ng/mL in controls, p<0.0001), with OSDI 39.85±10.85, TFBUT 6.38±2.75s, ST-I 9.82±5.17 mm, TMH 0.19±1.21 mm, OSS 2.71±0.21; 25(OH)D correlated positively with TMH/ST-I/TFBUT (r=0.775/0.313/0.396) and negatively with OSDI (r=-0.414), all p<0.0001. Vitamin D deficiency is strongly associated with reduced tear volume and stability, as well as worse symptoms, particularly affecting TMH and epithelial integrity. Thus, we show vitamin D as a key modifier of the tear film, supporting its role as an adjuvant therapeutic target alongside standard management.
Keywords
Dry eye disease (DED); vitamin D; tear-film break-up time (TFBUT); Schirmer test; ocular surface staining; tear meniscus height
Citation
Singh et al. Bioinformation 22(4): 2360-2364 (2026)
Edited by
Vini Mehta
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
