Abstract:
Introduction:
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the most common reason for legal blindness in western societies. Life time and point prevalence for psychiatric comorbidity of exsudative AMD were analysed within a multifactorially model.
Methods:
In a monocentric clinical survey AMD patients were recruited at the University Eye Hospital, Tuebingen. Visual function was obtained using ETDRS charts for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and Radner charts for reading visual acuity (BCNVA). Main outcome measures included Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Symptom Check List (SCL-90-R), National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), WHO Quality Of Life (WHOQOL-BREF), Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID).
Results:
53 AMD patients (64,2% femal, 35,8% male, age mean 78 years, BCVA better eye mean 0,5 logMAR) were recruited. Life time prevalence for depressive disorders was 55,9%, and 20,5% for anxiety disorders. Point prevalence for depressive disorders was 23,6%, and 8,8% for anxiety disorders. Significant decrease of Quality of Life (QOL) and a high prevalence for emotional distress seems to be associated to AMD.
Conclusions:
Depressive and anxiety disorders are pre-dominant psychiatric syndromes in patients with age-related macular degeneration. This observation should be discussed within an integrative model of biological, social, psychological, and cultural factors in diagnostics and therapy as well as rehabilitation of AMD patients.