Association Between Posterior Segment Eye Diseases, Common Mental Disorders, and Depression: Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analyses of Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health Cohort

Abstract

Background: Posterior segment eye diseases, such as glaucoma and retinal diseases (such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and retinal detachment), are chronic diseases that are among the major causes of visual impairment.

Objective: We investigated the prevalence of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and common mental disorders in these patients and also the incidence of depression.

Methods: We examined baseline (2008-2010) and follow-up (2012-2014) data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). We used the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R) to perform International Classification of Diseases-10-based diagnoses of anxiety and depressive disorders. Common mental disorder was defined as a Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised >11. We used multinomial logistic regression models to investigate associations between eye diseases and mental disorders, adjusted by age, gender, educational level, self-reported ethnicity, cardiovascular conditions, and self-reported quality of vision.

Results: Out of 10,775 subjects, 249 (2.3%), 303 (2.8%), and 30 (0.3%) reported having retinal diseases, glaucoma, or both, respectively. Patients with retinal diseases and those with glaucoma and retinal diseases presented a higher prevalence of common mental disorders (relative-risk ratios of 1.7 and 3.7, respectively, P < 0.001). These patients also presented a higher incidence of depression at follow-up (relative-risk ratios of 3.0 and 5.9, respectively, P < 0.001). Patients with glaucoma presented neither a higher prevalence nor a higher incidence of mental disorders or depression.

Conclusions: Retinal diseases but not glaucoma were associated with mental disorders, indicating that patients with posterior segment eye diseases require distinct management of psychiatric morbidity according to the underlying pathology.

Keywords: anxiety disorders; cohort study; depressive disorders; diabetic retinopathy; glaucoma; macular degeneration.