Prevalence and predictors of depression among participants with glaucoma in a nationally representative population sample.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for depression among participants with glaucoma and the predictive value of glaucoma for depression.


METHODS
Cross-sectional study.


METHODS
This study included 6760 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) between 2005 and 2008, aged ≥40 years, who reported a presence or absence of glaucoma. Demographic and disease-related information was obtained by interview. Self-reported measures of vision were ascertained via items from the Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25). Participants underwent visual acuity examination, fundus photography, and visual field testing with screening frequency-doubling technology (FDT N-30-5). The main outcome was presence of depression, as determined by a score ≥10 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).


RESULTS
Prevalence of depression among participants with and without glaucoma was 10.9% (SEM 2.2%) and 6.9% (SEM 0.62%), respectively. While the presence of glaucoma was significantly associated with depression after adjustment for demographic factors (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.16-2.79), this association was not significant after adjustment for self-reported general health condition (OR 1.35, 95% CI 0.822-2.23). Among participants with glaucoma, objective measures of glaucoma severity were not significant predictors for depression. However, several self-reported measures of visual function were significantly associated with depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Glaucoma is a significant predictor of depression after adjustment for demographic factors and multiple comorbidities, but not after adjustment for self-reported general health condition. Among participants with glaucoma, self-reported measures of vision were significant risk factors for depression, whereas objective measures of vision were not.
Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA.
Sophia Y
SY
Wang
Kuldev
K
Singh
Shan C
SC
Lin
D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology