Vision loss, vision difficulty and psychological distress in South Africa: results from SANHANES-1

BMC Psychology

Kwadwo Owusu Akuffo¹  Samson Darrah¹  Isaiah Osei Duah¹  David Ben Kumah¹  Emmanuel Kofi Addo²  Akosua Kesewah Asare³  Eldad Agyei-Manu⁴  Ronel Sewpaul⁵  Natisha Dukhi⁵  Priscilla Reddy⁶ 

[1] Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Centre, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;Department of Nutrition and Integrative Physiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA;Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;Department of Optometry and Visual Science, College of Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana;Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK;Health & Wellbeing, Human and Social Capabilities Division, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa;Health & Wellbeing, Human and Social Capabilities Division, Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa;Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa;

关键词: Vision-related quality of life;    Emotional stress in eye diseases;    Mental health;    Anxiety;    Depression;    Vision impairment and stress;    Vision disorders and self-esteem;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40359-021-00558-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundPsychological distress in vision impairments and blindness is a complex issue and a major public health concern. Sudden adjustments in routine lifestyle and career aspirations in such persons culminate in and/or aggravate their level of stress. Yet, psychological distress in persons with visual difficulties and vision loss in South Africa is poorly understood. We investigated the association between psychological distress and self-reported vision difficulties as well as clinician-assessed vision loss using data from the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (SANHANES-1).MethodsData was analysed on participants aged ≥ 15 years who participated in the SANHANES-1 clinical examinations and interviews. Data on demographic, socio-economic, and health status variables were gathered using a structured questionnaire. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler psychological distress scale (K10). Vision assessment was conducted by clinicians adhering to standard protocols as well as by participants’ subjective response to vision-related questions. Vision loss was defined as presenting visual acuity worse than Snellen 6/12 in the better eye. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to examine the association between vision parameters and psychological distress.ResultsThe analytic sample comprised 6859 participants with mean age of 38.4 years (60.8% females). The prevalence of psychological distress was 19.9%. After adjusting for demographics, socioeconomic, health risk and eye care variables, self-reported myopia (mild adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.9, 95% CI 1.3–2.7; moderate AOR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.6–3.7; severe AOR = 3.6, 95% CI 1.8–7.3) and self-reported hyperopia (mild AOR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.5; moderate AOR = 2.4, 95% CI 1.5–3.8; severe AOR = 3.5, 95% CI 1.8–6.8) were significantly associated with psychological distress. While psychological distress was higher in patients with clinician assessed vision loss than those with normal vision, the association was not statistically significant after adjusting for confounders (AOR: 1.0, 95% CI 0.7–1.4).ConclusionsPersons who self-reported vision difficulty experienced a higher prevalence of psychological distress. Therefore, comprehensive psychological care is needed for patients with eye disease or vision difficulties as part of a governmental strategy to provide mental health care for all South Africans.

【 授权许可】

CC BY