title: Frequency and Correlates of Distant Visual Impairment in Patients with Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and Major Depressive Disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Distant visual impairment in the severely mentally ill is under-researched. This study aimed to assess the frequency and correlates of distant visual impairment in a cohort of Chinese psychiatric patients, including its effect on their quality of life.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult psychiatric inpatients with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder consecutively admitted to a psychiatric hospital in Beijing, China underwent assessments of psychopathology (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, 16-item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology [Self-Report]), quality of life (12-item Short-Form Medical Outcomes Study [SF-12], 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire [NEI-VFQ25]), adverse effects (Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser Side Effect Rating Scale), and presenting (as opposed to uncorrected) distant visual acuity (Logarithm of the Minimum Angle of Resolution [LogMAR] chart with patients wearing spectacles, if they owned them). Distant visual impairment was defined as binocular distant visual acuity of a LogMAR score of ≥ 0.5 (< 6/18 Snellen acuity).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 356 patients who met the study criteria, the frequency of distant visual impairment was 12.6% (15.2% with schizophrenia, 11.9% with bipolar disorder, 8.8% with major depressive disorder). In multiple logistic regression analysis, distant visual impairment was significantly associated with ocular disease only (p = 0.002, odds ratio = 3.2, 95% confidence interval = 1.5-6.7). Controlling for the confounding effect of ocular disease, patients with distant visual impairment had a lower quality of life in the general vision domain of the NEI-VFQ25 (F[2, 353] = 9.5, p = 0.002) compared with those without. No differences in the physical and mental domains of the SF-12 and in other domains of the NEI-VFQ25 were noted in these 2 groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One-eighth of middle-aged severely mentally ill patients had distant visual impairment. Considering the impact of distant visual impairment on daily functioning, severely mentally ill patients need to be screened for impaired eyesight as part of their comprehensive health assessment.
authors.affiliation: Guangzhou Brain Hospital (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, PR China & Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, PR China.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, PR China.
authors.forename: L R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Division of Psychiatry Research, The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Glen Oaks, New York, United States.
authors.forename: C U
authors.initials: CU
authors.lastname: Correll
authors.affiliation: University of Notre Dame Australia / Marian Centre and School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ungvari
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, PR China.
authors.forename: H F K
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, PR China.
authors.forename: Y Q
authors.initials: YQ
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, PR China.
authors.forename: Y T
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D002681:China; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000150:complications*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D014792:Visual Acuity
keywords: China; Inpatients / psychology; Quality of life; Vision disorders