Association Between Visual Impairment and Depression in Patients Attending Eye Clinics. A Meta-analysis

Summary

To conduct a meta-analysis on the prevalence of depression in patients with visual impairment who regularly visit eye clinics and low vision rehabilitation services. Studies that obtained data on the association between acquired visual impairment and depression among individuals aged 18 years or older were identified and included in this review. Exclusion criteria comprised inherited or congenital eye diseases, review studies, unpublished articles, abstracts, theses, dissertations, and book chapters. Four independent reviewers analysed the results of the search and performed the selection and data extraction to ensure accuracy. A total of 27 studies were included in this review, and all but 2 included patients older than 65 years. Among 6992 total patients (mean [SD] age, 76 [13.9] years; 4195 women [60%]) with visual impairment, in 1687 patients with depression, the median proportion of depression was 0.30 (range, 0.03-0.54). The random-effects pooled estimate was 0.25 (95% CI, 0.19-0.33) with high heterogeneity (95% predictive interval, 0.05-0.70). No patient characteristic, measured at the study level, influenced the prevalence of depression. he results of this meta-analysis suggest that depression in patients with visual impairment is a common problem that should be recognized and addressed by the health care professionals treating these patients.