Research progress on the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and dry eye

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can lead to complications in various systems and organs of the body. Dry eye (DE), the most common ocular surface disease in clinical practice, affects visual-related daily activities and work in varying degrees. Recent studies have revealed a potential relationship between OSA and DE. OSA can induce DE through a series of mechanisms such as oxidative stress, inflammation, rhythm disorder and so on, and the combination of OSA and DE may profoundly affect the sleep health, mood disorders, and quality of life of patients in a new form overall. However, there is still a lack of systematic understanding of the comorbidity of OSA and DE, resulting in insufficient screening, diagnosis and treatment of OSA related DE in clinical practice. This paper provided a review of the relationship between OSA and DE to raise awareness among clinicians of the diagnosis and management of DE during OSA treatment.