Posterior Blepharitis and Associated Potential Factors: A Study among Pregnant Women.

Purpose: This study evaluates in a cross-section of pregnant women the frequency of posterior blepharitis, its predisposing factors and how lipid profile impacts the occurrence of posterior blepharitis in pregnancy.Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study of pregnant women.Results: In this study, 201 pregnant women were recruited and included in the study's analysis. The participants' mean age was 29.96 (±4.74) years, with a median age of 30 and a range of 17 to 40 years. The frequency of posterior blepharitis among this cohort was 13.4% (95% confidence interval, 9.0% to 18.4%). The frequencies of MGD-associated posterior blepharitis and non-MGD associated posterior blepharitis were 6.0% and 7.4%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean fluorescein tear breakup time and SPEED scores between non-MGD associated posterior blepharitis and MGD-associated posterior blepharitis, however, the mean tear breakup time(t = 3.999, p < .001) and SPEED scores (t = 6.76, p < .0001) showed a statistically significant difference in posterior blepharitis pregnant women compared to non-posterior blepharitis pregnant women. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean corneal staining scores between non-MGD-associated posterior blepharitis and MGD-associated posterior blepharitis (t = 3.99, p = .001). There was no association between lipid profile and posterior blepharitis in binary logistic regression analysisConclusion: The study showed that posterior blepharitis occurs in pregnancy, but it is not associated with cholesterol levels.