Abstract
Dear editor,
A collection of factors known as metabolic syndrome (MeTs) components that include arterial hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia (Ismail, 2023; Ismail & Hamed, 2023) has been connected to dry eye (DE). DE is characterized by insufficient or low tear production, excessive tear evaporation, ocular, and corneal inflammation or damage, or loss of the tear film's homeostasis. Eye pain, ocular fatigue, and visual problems are common complaints among DE patients (Erdur et al., 2017). Recent studies found that individuals with MeTs when compared to those without MeTs with a similar sex and gender had twice the risk of DE (Erdur et al., 2017; Kawashima et al., 2014a).
The mechanism tying MeTs and DE together is not fully understood. The entire ocular surfaces of MeTs patients have been shown to exhibit localized ocular inflammatory abnormalities as a result of oxidative stress (OS) and persistent low-grade systemic inflammation, which increases the prevalence of DE in MeTs patients (Erdur et al., 2017). Physical inactivity has also been linked to the development of MeTs, as well as chronic systemic inflammation that is linked to excessive OS, decreased mucin expression, and increased ocular surface inflammation, which causes the tear film to thin and DE to form (Kawashima et al., 2014b).
There are several treatments for DE, including tear replacements or substitutes, humidification, a healthy diet, and anti-inflammatory eye drops or agents. Once they have detected symptoms of DE syndrome, home healthcare nurses can use a variety of strategies, from warm compresses to doctor supervision for additional therapy. The quality of life is improved and ocular surface damage is decreased with consistent treatment of this illness (Patricia & Mary, 2018).
One treatment option for MeTs-associated DE may be aerobic exercise (AE), which is advised by healthcare nurses to improve OS, boost antioxidant status, and reduce systemic inflammation in MeTs patients. This is especially true given the ineffectiveness of DE medications in treating DE symptoms (Ismail et al., 2023).
This suggestion is consistent with a few human studies that showed a promising role for AE in the prevention or treatment of DE and DE-associated low quality of life (Ismail et al., 2023; Kawashima et al., 2014b; Sano et al., 2018), in addition to the evidence-based positive response of tear secretion to AE in diabetic rats (Sano et al., 2014).
Despite the above-mentioned importance of AE, patients, physiotherapists, and healthcare nurses did not pay as much attention to employing AE as a supplemental therapy for reducing DE symptoms in MeTs patients.
In conclusion, this letter to the editor serves as a reminder to nurses working in the medical field to be aware of DE complaints in MeTs patients. Although using AE in the treatment of DE is an easy technique to enhance DE, further research in this area is required from healthcare nurses.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
