More and more evidence indicate that air pollution can seriously damage human health and become a major cause of the global disease burden. The main component of air pollution, particulate matter, can penetrate the lungs and cardiovascular system, causing ischemic heart disease, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and even lung cancer, leading to an increase in the incidence and mortality rates related to air pollution. Urban particulate matter, as the main air pollution problem faced by urban residents, has been shown to be closely related to various inflammatory eye diseases, such as allergic conjunctivitis, keratitis, and dry eye. Our research further confirms that exposure to high concentration of urban particulate matter can also cause pathological structural changes and functional abnormalities in the meibomian gland, leading to inflammatory meibomian gland dysfunction. This review comprehensively summarizes the latest research on the eye surface diseases related to urban particulate matter and their pathogenic mechanisms, aims to elucidate the damage of air pollution to eye surface tissues, identify potential therapeutic targets, and guide the diagnosis and treatment of environmentally related eye diseases in clinical practice.
