Depression and anxiety in visually impaired older people.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between visual impairment and depression and anxiety in older people in Britain.


METHODS
Population-based cross-sectional study.


METHODS
Thirteen thousand nine hundred people aged 75 years and older in 49 family practices in Britain.


METHODS
Vision was measured in 13 900 people aged 75 years and older in 49 family practices taking part in a randomized trial of health screening that included depression (Geriatric Depression Scale [GDS-15]) and anxiety (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-28]). Cause of visual impairment (binocular acuity less than 6/18) was assessed from medical records. Analysis was by logistic regression (odds ratio [OR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]), taking account of potential health and social confounders.


METHODS
Levels of depression and anxiety.


RESULTS
Visually impaired people had a higher prevalence of depression compared with people with good vision. Of visually impaired older people, 13.5% were depressed (GDS-15 score of 6 or more) compared with 4.6% of people with good vision (age- and gender-adjusted OR, 2.69; 95% CI, 2.03-3.56). Controlling for potential confounding factors, particularly activities of daily living, markedly attenuated the association between visual impairment and depression (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 0.94-1.70). There was little evidence for any association between visual impairment and anxiety. On the GHQ-28 scale, 9.3% of visually impaired people had 2 or more symptoms of anxiety compared with 7.4% of people with good vision.


CONCLUSIONS
Although cause and effect cannot be established in a cross-sectional study, it is plausible that people with visual impairment are more likely to experience problems with functioning, which in turn leads to depression.
Evans
Jennifer R
JR
International Centre for Eye Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
Fletcher
Astrid E
AE
Wormald
Richard P L
RP
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity; D019987:Persons with Visual Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*