Table 1.
Patient demographics
| All values are n (%) unless stated otherwise | Patients (N=146) |
| Mean (SD) age, years | 49.8 (11.4) |
| Female | 131 (89.7) |
| Age group, years | |
| 18–24 | 1 (0.7) |
| 25–34 | 19 (13.0) |
| 35–44 | 29 (19.9) |
| 45–54 | 35 (24.0) |
| 55–64 | 62 (42.5) |
| Ethnicity* | |
| Caucasian | 104 (71.2) |
| East Asian | 26 (17.8) |
| South Asian | 8 (5.5) |
| Latino/Hispanic | 3 (2.1) |
| African | 3 (2.1) |
| Middle Eastern | 2 (1.4) |
| Caribbean | 2 (1.4) |
| Other† | 4 (2.7) |
| Highest level of education | |
| University certificate, diploma or degree | |
| Above bachelor level | 22 (15.1) |
| At bachelor level | 45 (30.8) |
| Below bachelor level | 4 (2.7) |
| College, CEGEP or other non-university certificate or diploma | 34 (23.3) |
| Trades | |
| Certificate of apprenticeship or qualification | 2 (1.4) |
| Certificate or diploma (excluding certificate of apprenticeship) | 9 (6.2) |
| High school diploma or equivalency certificate | 26 (17.8) |
| No certificate, diploma, or degree | 4 (2.7) |
| Employment status | |
| Employed | 95 (65.1) |
| Disability leave | |
| Due to DED | 3 (2.1) |
| Other reason | 9 (6.2) |
| Unemployed | |
| Job seeking | 9 (6.2) |
| Not job seeking | 9 (6.2) |
| Retired/pre-pension plan | 15 (10.3) |
| None of the above (‘I do something else’) | 6 (4.1) |
| Estimated income,‡ CAD | |
| Mean (SD) | $C68 781 ($C22 983) |
| Median (Q1, Q3) | $C58 755 ($C50 513, $C87 415) |
| Estimated annual income,‡ CAD | |
| ≤$C40 000 | 4 (2.7) |
| >$C40 000–≤$C60 000 | 72 (49.3) |
| >$C60 000–≤$C80 000 | 24 (16.4) |
| >$C80 000–≤$C100 000 | 32 (21.9) |
| >$C100 000 | 14 (9.6) |
*As three patients were of mixed ethnicity the total does not add up to 100%.
†Includes one Filipino; the remaining three patients did not specify their ethnicity.
‡Average salary was estimated according to age group, sex, employment status, and highest level of education from Statistics Canada,13 adjusted to 2018 levels using the Bank of Canada consumer price index inflation calculator.14
CAD, Canadian dollars; CEGEP, College of General and Vocation Education; DED, dry eye disease.