Researchers in Switzerland have findings that should interest you if you’ve ever wondered about an association between sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) and eye problems.

Seventy-two patients referred for evaluation of SAS underwent complete examinations of the eyelids, conjunctiva and cornea. The examinations included videokeratography. A respiratory disturbance index (RDI) was used to diagnose and grade SAS. Spearman rank correlations were used to associate RDI with tear film break-up time, eyelid distraction distance, presence or absence of ocular irritation symptoms, blepharoptosis, floppy eyelids, lacrimal gland prolapse, keratoconus and endothelial dystrophy. Correlations were controlled for age and body mass index.

Forty-four of the 72 patients (61%) had SAS. The RDI correlated positively with the eyelid distraction distance (P=0.05), presence or absence of floppy eyelids (P=0.01), and lacrimal gland prolapse (P=0.01). It correlated negatively with tear film breakup time (P=0.02). No patients with floppy eyelids had corneal abnormalities. One patient with SAS had bilateral keratoconus; another had bilateral Fuchs’ endothelial dystrophy.

The researchers concluded that SAS was significantly associated with reduced tear film breakup time, floppy eyelids and lacrimal gland prolapse. Ocular irritation symptoms and corneal involvement were rare in these patients. These conclusions contradict previous studies reporting prevalent corneal involvement in floppy eyelid syndrome.