Association between Traditional Chinese Medicine patterns and dry eye in the Chinese population: A cross-sectional study

We investigated the distribution of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patterns and their correlation with dry eye. This cross-sectional study was conducted at Beijing Tongren Hospital's Dry Eye Diagnosis and Treatment Center and included 205 patients diagnosed with dry eye following the TFOS DEWS II criteria. All patients underwent a comprehensive clinical examination for dry eye and completed the dry eye TCM questionnaire. TCM pattern differentiation was performed for all patients. We investigated the distribution of TCM patterns among patients with dry eye and examined the correlation between TCM patterns and dry eye indicators using Spearman correlation analysis. Based on patients' symptoms, tongue coating, and pulse conditions, the 205 patients were classified into 11 TCM patterns. The 3 most common TCM patterns were qi stagnation and blood stasis pattern, spleen-kidney yang deficiency pattern, and qi-yin deficiency pattern. There were significant correlations between these TCM patterns and 1, 3, and 4 dry eye indicators, respectively. The proportion of TCM patterns and the correlations between TCM patterns and dry eye indicators varied among different dry eye subtypes. We preliminary investigated the distribution of TCM patterns among patients with dry eye and found a certain correlation between TCM patterns and dry eye indicators. These findings provide a theoretical basis for further research on TCM for treating dry eye.