Purpose: The purpose of this review was to evaluate the association between glaucoma and depression and to identify possible risk factors for depressive symptoms in glaucoma patients.
Methods: A total of 587 abstracts were screened and 32 studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in this review.
Results: An association of glaucoma and depression was found, while advanced disease stage, older age, female sex and faster visual loss progression were recognized as potential risk factors for depression in patients with glaucoma.
Conclusions: Our findings may have important clinical significance, such as alerting ophthalmologists to implement a multidisciplinary approach in patients with glaucoma. Further research is needed to examine this association in different types of glaucoma and try to investigate the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms to establish a causal inference between glaucoma and depression.
Keywords: Risk factors; anxiety; depression; glaucoma.