Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health Among Patients with Chronic Ocular Conditions

Overview

Journal Vision (Basel)

Specialty Ophthalmology

Date 2023 Jul 25

PMID 37489328

Authors

Soumaya Bouhout

Melanie Hebert

Weronika Jakubowska

Laurence Jaworski

Ellen E Freeman

Marie-Josee Aubin

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had significant impacts on the mental and visual health of patients. This cross-sectional, survey-based, multicentric study evaluates the state of mental and visual health among patients with chronic ocular diseases such as glaucoma, neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, or chronic uveitis during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mental health was assessed using three questionnaires: the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25). A total of 145 patients completed the questionnaires. The PHQ-9 showed that most respondents ( = 89, 61%) had none or minimal depressive symptoms, while 31 (21%) had mild depressive symptoms, 19 (13%) had moderate depressive symptoms, 5 (3%) had moderately severe depressive symptoms, and 1 (1%) had severe depressive symptoms. Regarding stress surrounding the pandemic, the median IES-R showed mild distress in 16 (11%), moderate distress in 7 (5%), and severe distress in 4 (3%). The COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns had a negative impact on patients' mental health with close to 20% of the patients reporting at least moderately depressive symptoms and 19% reporting at least mildly distressful symptoms.

Citing Articles

Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on the trends of care-seeking behavior for ocular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Hirosawa K, Inomata T, Nagino K, Sung J, Midorikawa-Inomata A, Inagaki K Sci Rep. 2025; 15(1):7800.

PMID: 40050389 PMC: 11885659. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-92279-z.

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