Eyelid disease common among habitual scleral lens wearers, study finds

Habitual scleral lens wear was associated with a high prevalence of eyelid disease in a recent study evaluating meibomian gland obstruction, meibum quality, and lid margin inflammation among regular wearers.

The study included 49 scleral lens wearers who had worn their current lenses for at least 6 months for a minimum of 5 hours per day, 6 days per week.

Upper lid wiper epitheliopathy was identified in 43% of eyes, while lower lid wiper epitheliopathy was present in 31% of eyes. In addition, 80% of eyes had expressible meibomian glands.

The researchers noted that eyes without expressible meibum were significantly more common in patients using scleral lenses for ocular surface disease compared with those wearing lenses for corneal irregularity (39% vs 11%; P = 0.03). Lid margin telangiectasia was also more prevalent in the ocular surface disease group than in the corneal irregularity group (61% vs 19%; P = 0.005).

Reference
Harthan JS, Nau A, Shorter E, et al. Presence of Eyelid Disease in Habitual Scleral Lens Wearers. J Clin Med. 2026;15(9):3181. doi: 10.3390/jcm15093181. PMID: 42122914; PMCID: PMC13164445.