Dryness symptoms among an unselected clinical population with and without contact lens wear

Dry Eye Questionnaire (DEQ) and Contact Lens Dry Eye Questionnaire (CLDEQ) from unselected eye care patients (including current, former and non-contact lens wearers) were analyzed to contrast dryness symptoms among patients with and without contact lenses. Contact lens wearers reported a higher incidence of intense symptoms, especially late in the day (12.7% AM versus 41.1% PM, p < 0.0001), that diminished when they removed lenses (p = 0.0001). Dryness intensity was not correlated with gender and was inversely correlated with age among contact lens wearers, differing significantly from the pattern among non-lens wearers. Contact lens related dryness differs from dry eye among non-lens wearers.