Depressive Illness in Patients with Eye Disease, A Hidden Entity

Purpose:  To determine the frequency of depressive illness in patients presenting with ocular complaints.Study Design:  Observational cross sectional study,Place and Duration of Study:  Watim Medical College, Rawat, Rawalpindi, from October 2021 to November 2021.Methods:  All the patients presenting with ocular diseases and visiting were included in the study. Patients were asked to complete an Urdu translated version of patient health questionnaire (PHQ 9). Inclusion criteria was patients more than 40 years of age, with ocular complaints and either gender. Patients with age less than 40 years, mentally and physically handicapped, having a previous history of psychiatric disease, deaf and mute, any terminal, chronic or debilitating ocular or systemic disease were excluded. The results were analyzed and expressed with descriptive data in frequencies and the numerical data in average and standard deviations. Chi square test of significance was applied taking p value of less than 0.05 as significant.Results:  A total of 537 patients (43.95% males and 56.05% females) were included. 60.71% of the participants were suffering from moderate to severe depression. Among them 12.1% had moderately severe and 16.76% had severe depression. More females (19.55%) suffered from depression which required treatment than males (9.31%).Conclusion:  Significant number of patients presenting with ocular complaints suffered from depression, which can affect or may be effected by the underlying ocular disease. The ophthalmologists should be aware of the entity and should take into account while treating the ocular disease.Key Words:  Eye, Depression, Dry eye disease