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Anxiety decreases in strabismus patients after corrective surgery, study finds
Surgical correction of adult strabismus results in improved social anxiety and disability levels as well as quality of life, according to a study recently published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
Alpak and colleagues assessed the preoperative and postoperative measurements of 31 adult patients with strabismus.
Participants were evaluated for social phobia diagnosis (DSM-IV-TR) and severity (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale or LSAS), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale or HADS), disability (Sheehan Disability Scale) and quality of life (short form-36) both before and after surgery, according to the study.
Of the 31 patients, 14 had esotropia and 17 had exotropia. Orthophoria was achieved in all patients, according to the study.
Results showed that while 17 of the 31 strabismus patients were diagnosed with a social phobia before surgery, that number reduced to six of 31 after surgery.
"The patients showed a significant decrease in all subscale scores and total score of both LSAS and HADS compared with their preoperative scores," the authors reported "The quality of life scores were increased significantly after their surgery. Significant improvements were observed in their disabilities at work, social life and family life as well."
Researchers also noted that, while a future study to assess long-term effects would be valuable, they were able to observe significant changes in all study variables in their time frame of 3 months.