Newsblurb: Hm, which part was news?

Dry Eye Syndrome Affects More Women Than Men
by Prevent Blindness America, March 30, 2011

Well, the headline certainly wasn't news. And most of the rest of the article has the same-old warmed over advice so I won't quote it all here, but there were a few interesting tidbits:

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..Women are also more likely to develop Dry Eye. Approximately 6 million have moderate to severe symptoms of dry eye syndrome, as compared to 3 million men, according to the National Women’s Health Resource Center.

I have never read before that men are half as likely to get dry eye - that's quite a lot higher than I would have thought. Wonder where the data is from.

Women who are pregnant, on certain types of birth control, or experiencing menopause have increased rates of Dry Eye. In fact, according to the National Eye Institute, women who are on hormone replacement therapy are also more likely to experience symptoms. Women taking only estrogen are 70 percent more likely to experience Dry Eye, and those taking estrogen and progesterone have a 30 percent increased risk of developing the condition.

That's a nice sum-up - very few sources ever mention birth control as a potential factor or differentiate amongst hormone supplements.