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. 2022 Apr 19:14:25158414221090100.
doi: 10.1177/25158414221090100. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.

The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among ophthalmic disease patients

Zulvikar Syambani Ulhaq  1 , Gita Vita Soraya  2 , Nadia Artha Dewi  3 , Lely Retno Wulandari  3
Affiliations

The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among ophthalmic disease patients

Zulvikar Syambani Ulhaq et al. Ther Adv Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: Progressive and irreversible vision loss has been shown to place a patient at risk of mental health problems such as anxiety. However, the reported prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among eye disease patients vary across studies. Thus, this study aims to clarify the estimated prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among ophthalmic disease patients.

Methods: Relevant studies on the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among eye disease patients were collected through international databases, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A random-effects model was used to determine the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among ophthalmic disease patients.

Results: The 95 included studies yielded a pooled prevalence of 31.2% patients with anxiety symptoms and 19.0% with anxiety disorders among subjects with ophthalmic disease. Pediatric patients were more anxious (58.6%) than adults (29%). Anxiety symptoms were most prevalent in uveitis (53.5%), followed by dry eye disease (DED, 37.2%), retinitis pigmentosa (RP, 36.5%), diabetic retinopathy (DR, 31.3%), glaucoma (30.7%), myopia (24.7%), age-related macular degeneration (AMD, 21.6%), and cataract (21.2%) patients. Anxiety disorders were most prevalent in thyroid eye disease (TED, 28.9%), followed by glaucoma (22.2%) and DED (11.4%). When compared with healthy controls, there was a twofold increase on the prevalence of anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.912, 95% CI 1.463-2.5, p < 0.001) and anxiety disorders (OR = 2.281, 95% CI 1.168-4.454, p = 0.016).

Conclusion: Anxiety symptoms and disorders are common problems associated with ophthalmic disease patients. Thus, comprehensive and appropriate treatments are necessary for treating anxiety symptoms and disorders among ophthalmic disease patients.

Keywords: anxiety symptoms and disorders; ophthalmic disease; prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of the study selection process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Forest plot of the 81 studies estimating the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms among patients with ophthalmic disease, of which 3 studies were conducted in pediatric patients.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Forest plot of the 14 studies estimating the pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders among patients with ophthalmic disease.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms in the different types of patients with ophthalmic disease: (a) uveitis; (b) dry eye disease (DED); (c) retinitis pigmentosa (RP); (d) Diabetic retinopathy (DR).
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms in the different types of patients with ophthalmic disease: (a) glaucoma; (b) myopia; (c) age-related macular degeneration (AMD); (d) cataract.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders in the different types of patients with ophthalmic disease: (a) thyroid eye disease (TED); (b) glaucoma; (c) dry eye disease (DED).
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anxiety symptoms in patients with ophthalmic disease and control subjects: (a) overall; (b) dry eye disease (DED) group; (c) glaucoma.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Forest plot of the pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders in patients with ophthalmic disease and control subjects.
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