Quantitative analyses of factors related to anxiety and depression in patients with retinitis pigmentosa

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the factors related to anxiety and depression in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The status of anxiety and depression was determined in RP patients with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire which consisted of subscales for HADS-anxiety (HADS-A) and HADS-depression (HADS-D). The vision-specific quality of life (VSQOL) was assessed with the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (NEI-VFQ25). The correlations between the HADS-A or HADS-D scores and vision-related clinical parameters such as the best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), Functional Acuity Score, Functional Field Score, Functional Vision Score, the NEI- VFQ25 subscale score were determined. The socioeconomic status, such as the work status and membership in the RP society, was investigated to determine the factors related to the HADS-A and HADS-D scores. One hundred and twelve RP patients (46 men and 66 women) with mean age of 60.7±15.4 (standard deviation) years were studied. The HADS-A score was not significantly correlated with any visual functions but was significantly correlated with the general health condition (r = -0.34, P<0.001) and the role limitation (r = -0.20, P = 0.03) of the NEI-VFQ25 subscale. The HADS-D score was significantly correlated with all the visual functions (r = -0.38 to 0.29, P<0.001), the NEI-VFQ25 subscale score (r = - 0.58 to -0.33, P<0.001) by Spearman’s correlations. The HADS-A score was significantly higher in the members of the RP society than in non-members (P = 0.013). The mean HADS-D score of employed individuals was significantly lower than that of unemployed ones (P = 0.001) by the Mann-Whitney U test. The results indicate that visual function impairments and vision-related quality of life are associated with a depressive state, and the general health condition is related to anxiety in RP patients. Being employed may be strongly correlated with the degree of depression in RP patients.

Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Retinitis Pigmentosa

“…This finding alone, although controversial among previous studies, has been reported in the past. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] To further understand the implications of this difference, further analysis was completed to calculate the effect size or magnitude of this difference. This value is presented in terms of increased odds of patients with RP to have a diagnosis of anxiety by 4.9-fold, depression by 5.6-fold, and both anxiety and depression by 4.1-fold when compared with those without RP.…”

“…Possibly because of variations in the base study populations, the presence of increased risk, variance in the reported rate, and presence of influencing patient characteristics are conflicting. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Similarly, investigations on the relationship between RP and anxiety have also produced conflicting reports on the association. 19,20 Although it is important to identify the presence or absence of an association between RP with anxiety and depression, the magnitude or effect size of the difference is equally significant.…”

Anxiety and Depression in Glaucoma Patients and its Correlations with Vision-related Quality of Life and Objective Visual Function Indices

“…Zhou et al found that worse self-reported visual function assessed by Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 questionnaire (GQL-15) was consistently correlated with decreased anxiety and depression in glaucoma patients [2]. In retinitis pigmentosa patients, the degree of anxiety was signi cantly correlated with the general health and role di culties of the NEI VFQ-25 dimensions but not with any objective visual functions, such as BCVA of better-and worse-seeing eyes [19]. With regard to depression, our results were consistent with several previous studies.…”

QD laser eyewear as a visual field aid in a visual field defect model

“…Reading a book at home could be more efficiently supported by a text-to-sound or -voice application on a personal computer. Visual function impairment can cause vision-related impairment of QOL 24 , and obtaining a visual field with a view greater than 20 degrees may be useful for walking 25 . The current device that improved the visual field to almost 20 degrees would, at least in part, have a clinically relevant effect.…”