Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Oct 2;20(1):486.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-02881-w.

Association of ocular diseases with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder: a retrospective case-control, population-based study

Chun-Hao Liu  1   2   3   4 , Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang  3   5 , Yu-Hsiang Lin  3   6   7 , Wei-Chi Wu  3   5 , Zhuo-Hao Liu  3   8 , Chang-Fu Kuo  3   9 , Chi-Chun Lai  3   5 , Yih-Shiou Hwang  10   11
Affiliations

Association of ocular diseases with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder: a retrospective case-control, population-based study

Chun-Hao Liu et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Psychiatric disorders and ocular neurovascular diseases may share a similar pathophysiological route of vascular structures or neurological changes. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between ocular neurovascular diseases and the risk of major psychiatric disorders.

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control, population-based study including patients aged ≥20 and were diagnosed between 1997 and 2013. Ocular neurovascular diseases diagnosed between 1997 and 2006 and newly diagnosed psychiatric disorders including bipolar disorder (BD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and schizophrenia between 2007 and 2013 were registered. Patients were propensity-score matched with control groups without psychiatric disorders in each cohort based on selected covariates.

Results: A total of one million sampled patients in the database were categorized based on their diagnoses; 2243 (37.4% men) were categorized into the BD group, 10,110 (35.2% men) into the MDD group, and 1623 (43.1% men) into the schizophrenia group. In the BD group, all glaucoma (OR 1.49, [1.18-1.89]), open-angle glaucoma (OR 2.08, [1.34-3.24]), and closed-angle glaucoma (OR 2.12, [1.36-3.33]) showed statistical significance of risk. In the MDD group, age-related macular degeneration (OR 1.33, [1.13-1.57]), all glaucoma (OR 1.24, [1.11-1.37]), open-angle glaucoma (OR 1.47, [1.21-1.80]), and dry eye syndrome (OR 1.22, [1.13-1.31]) were associated with a significantly higher risk. In the schizophrenia group, only all glaucoma (OR 1.47, [1.02-2.11]), glaucoma suspect (OR 1.88, [1.01-3.49]), and open-angle glaucoma (OR 2.19, [1.13-4.26]) showed statistical significance.

Conclusions: In this population-based study, ocular neurovascular diseases, especially glaucoma, were associated with increased risks of BD, MDD, and schizophrenia.

Keywords: Glaucoma; Mental disorders; Ocular neurovascular diseases; Psychiatric disorders.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a Flow chart of subject selection of bipolar disorder (BD) from the NHIRD. b Flow chart of subject selection of major depressive disorder (MDD) from the NHIRD. c Flow chart of subject selection of schizophrenia from the NHIRD
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Whiteford HA, Degenhardt L, Rehm J, Baxter AJ, Ferrari AJ, Erskine HE, et al. Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the global burden of disease study 2010. Lancet. 2013;382(9904):1575–1586. - PubMed
    1. Walker ER, McGee RE, Druss BG. Mortality in mental disorders and global disease burden implications: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. 2015;72(4):334–341. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goldstein BI, Carnethon MR, Matthews KA, McIntyre RS, Miller GE, Raghuveer G, et al. Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder predispose youth to accelerated atherosclerosis and early cardiovascular disease: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2015;132(10):965–986. - PubMed
    1. Goldstein BI. Bipolar disorder and the vascular system: mechanisms and new prevention opportunities. Can J Cardiol. 2017;33(12):1565–1576. - PubMed
    1. London A, Benhar I, Schwartz M. The retina as a window to the brain-from eye research to CNS disorders. Nat Rev Neurol. 2013;9(1):44–53. - PubMed

Publication types