Table 2.
Correlations identified between levels of cytokines in tear fluid and clinical ocular parameters.
| Clinical Parameters | IL_1ra | IL_2 | IL_4 | IL_8 | IL_12p70 | IL_17A | IFN_y | MIP_1b | Rantes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | r | 0.261* | ||||||||
| Osmolarity | r | 0.389* | 0.265* | 0.274* | 0.454** | 0.354* | 0.421* | 0.406* | ||
| TFBUT | r | −0.388* | −0.349* | −0.340* | −0.280* | −0.362* | −0.315* | −0.405* | ||
| Schirmer I | r | −0.629** | −0.463** | −0.579** | −0.494** | −0.459** | −0.462** | −0.629** | −0.626** | −0.727** |
| OSS | r | 0.443** | 0.359* | 0.380* | 0.440** | 0.333* | 0.315* | 0.445** | 0.560** | 0.533** |
| CS | r | 0.313* | 0.310* | 0.481** | 0.264* | 0.360* | 0.538** | 0.522** | ||
| DESL | r | 0.513** | 0.392* | 0.490** | 0.474** | 0.414* | 0.380* | 0.546** | 0.550** | 0.637** |
TFBUT: tear film breakup time; OSS: ocular surface staining; CS: corneal staining; DESL: dry eye severity level. Correlation coefficient r was tested with Spearman correlation test, statistical significant is set at *p < 0.05 level and **p < 0.001.