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Glaucoma patients have high rate of anxiety, depression
J Glaucoma. 2008;17(7);552-557.
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Primary open-angle glaucoma patients had higher rates of anxiety and depression than those without the disease, while no significant difference in depression prevalence was found between glaucoma patients who take a beta blocker and those who do not.
The level of anxiety and depression in primary open-angle glaucoma patients was rated in a multicenter, prospective, case-control study in Japan; 230 primary open-angle glaucoma patients were compared with 230 sex- and age-matched controls who did not have chronic ocular conditions, except for cataracts.
The study authors administered a Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaire to all patients in the study. They found that the 13% prevalence of glaucoma patients with anxiety was significantly higher than the 7% prevalence of anxiety in the non-glaucoma control group.
The 10.9% prevalence of depression was also significantly higher in glaucoma patients than the 5.2% prevalence in the control group.
No significant link was found between depression and beta blocker use in glaucoma patients.