Purpose: To investigate adult primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients' perceived stress levels and to examine the associations with their clinical characteristics.
Methods: Sixty-seven POAG patients, excluding those meeting the exclusion criteria (retinal or neurological disease diagnoses) comprised the study population. A validated questionnaire, namely Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), was used to assess stress level. Additional data on glaucoma surgery history, medical benefit receipt, comorbidities, and daily antiglaucoma medication number were collected. The clinical characteristics of high (PSS-10 ≥15) and low stress (PSS-10 <15) patients and the risk factors associated with high stress level were subjected to a multivariable logistic regression analysis.
Results: The patients were 56.8 ± 12.6 years of age on average, and 29 (43.3%) were female. The mean PSS-10 level was 13.5 ± 5.3 (range, 1-27) for the entire patient group; 31 patients (46.3%) were in the high stress group. In the high stress group relative to the low stress group, best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye was lower (p = 0.044) and the visual field defects, in both eyes, were more severe (better eye, p = 0.005; worse eye, p = 0.026). A logistic regression analysis indicated that severe visual field defect in the better eye (odds ratio, 1.159; 95% confidence interval, 1.016-1.323; p = 0.028) and lower best-corrected visual acuity in the better eye (odds ratio, 4.707; 95% confidence interval, 0.580-6.189; p = 0.072) were both likely to associated with high stress level in patients with POAG.
Conclusions: These findings suggest an association between severe visual function loss and higher mental stress level in POAG patients. Stress level, therefore, might be an important consideration in POAG patient management.
Keywords: Glaucoma; Open-angle glaucoma; Psychiatry; Surveys and questionnaires.