The Annual Cost of Dry Eye Syndrome in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom Among Patients Managed by Ophthalmologists

Given the limitations of the available economic evidence and our data sources, dry eye syndrome does not appear to impose a direct burden to the health care expenditure in the countries investigated. However, given that many dry eye sufferers self-treat with over-the-counter artificial tears and other medications, data which our study did not capture, the true societal costs of dry eye syndrome, borne by both patient and government, are likely to be higher.