Correlation between lid margin meibomian and tear break-up time on subjects stratified by OSDI scores

Purpose: To examine the clinical relationship between meibomian lipid secretions (Meibometry) and Break-up time (BUT) using different averaging methods and symptoms cluster analysis assessed by an OSDI questionnaire. Methods: 145 patients who fulfilled the study’s inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. Subjects were stratified following OSDI score. Using Meibometer MB550 under controlled environmental conditions, five curves were generated from the measurement performed on each patient. Curves were averaged using different criteria. BUT measurement was repeated three times to give three videos in each subject. BUT values were determined in frames on video-recordings with software-assisted interpretation and different averaging methods. Results: Cluster analysis on subjects stratified by OSDI scores showed significant correlation between Meibometry results and BUT (all p’ p = 0.029; all r’ 0.196), being more pronounced on symptomatic subjects (from r = 0.443 to r = 0.568). Conclusion: There is relationship between lipids on the lid margin and tear film stability on symptomatic subjects.