Department of Optometry, School of Medicine, College of Medicine and Health Sciences University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2022 Feb 17;17(2):e0264113. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264113. eCollection 2022.
Visual impairment can severely affect the quality of life, with a tremendous negative impact on job performance and socioeconomic status. This substantially affects the psychological status of people with visual impairment.
This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with psychological distress among visually impaired Ethiopian adults attending the University of Gondar Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center.
A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Gondar Tertiary Eye Care and Training Center in Gondar City, northwest Ethiopia. A total of 206 adults with visual impairment (a presenting VA ≤ 6/18 in at least one eye) and 206 adults with normal vision were included in the study. Psychological distress was measured using a standardized self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). Chi-square and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. Variables with a P-value of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.
The overall prevalence of psychological distress in the study participants was 31.07% (95% CI: 26.2, 35.8). Psychological distress was higher (43.2%; 95% CI: 36.5, 50.5) and statistically differed (p = 0.02) in visually impaired compared to adults with normal vision (18.9%; 95% CI: 14.1, 24.3). Duration of vision loss ≥ 2 years (AOR = 8.70; 95% CI: 2.38, 31.46), sudden loss of vision (AOR = 3.50; 95% CI: 1.10, 18.30), unmarried (AOR = 5.53; 95% CI: 1.66, 18.43), living lonely (AOR = 8.40; 95% CI:1.48, 4.74), College and above educational status (AOR = 2.50; 95% CI:1.47, 10.61), and loss of vision in both eyes (AOR = 1.70; 95% CI: 2.00, 14.10) were variables with a significant association with psychological distress among visually impaired adults.
This study revealed that the prevalence of psychological distress was significantly higher among visually impaired adults than among adults with normal vision. The effect of visual impairment on psychological distress was significantly related to marital status, living arrangements, educational status, duration of vision loss, pattern of vision loss, and laterality of vision loss.
视力障碍会严重影响生活质量，对工作表现和社会经济地位产生巨大的负面影响。这极大地影响了视力障碍者的心理状态。
本研究旨在确定在参加古达大学三级眼科保健和培训中心的埃塞俄比亚成年视力障碍者中，与心理困扰相关的流行率和因素。
这是在埃塞俄比亚西北部古达市古达大学三级眼科保健和培训中心进行的一项比较性横断面研究。共有 206 名视力障碍成年人（至少一只眼睛的表现视力≤6/18）和 206 名视力正常成年人纳入研究。使用标准化自评报告问卷（SRQ-20）测量心理困扰。进行卡方检验和二元逻辑回归分析。P 值小于 0.05 的变量被认为具有统计学意义。
研究参与者的总体心理困扰患病率为 31.07%（95%CI：26.2，35.8）。与视力正常的成年人相比，视力障碍者的心理困扰更高（43.2%；95%CI：36.5，50.5），且具有统计学差异（p=0.02）。视力丧失持续时间≥2 年（AOR=8.70；95%CI：2.38，31.46）、突然失明（AOR=3.50；95%CI：1.10，18.30）、未婚（AOR=5.53；95%CI：1.66，18.43）、独居（AOR=8.40；95%CI：1.48，4.74）、大学及以上教育程度（AOR=2.50；95%CI：1.47，10.61）和双眼失明（AOR=1.70；95%CI：2.00，14.10）与视力障碍成年人的心理困扰显著相关。
本研究表明，视力障碍成年人的心理困扰患病率明显高于视力正常成年人。视力障碍对心理困扰的影响与婚姻状况、生活安排、教育程度、视力丧失持续时间、视力丧失模式和视力丧失的侧别显著相关。
