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PURPOSE: Dry eye syndrome (DES) is believed to be one of the most common ocular problems in the United States (US), particularly among older women. However, there are few studies describing the magnitude of the problem in women and how this may vary with demographic characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional prevalence survey. METHODS: Study population: we surveyed 39,876 US women participating in the Women’s Health Study about a history of diagnosed DES and dry eye symptoms. Main outcome measure: we defined DES as the presence of clinically diagnosed DES or severe symptoms (both dryness and irritation constantly or often). We calculated the age-specific prevalence of DES and adjusted the overall prevalence to the age distribution of women in the US population. We used logistic regression to examine associations between DES and other demographic factors. RESULTS: The …