Department of Ophthalmology, Zagreb University Hospital Center, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia,
Psychiatr Danub. 2022 Summer;34(2):348-355. doi: 10.24869/psyd.2022.348.
The COVID-19 epidemic and earthquakes in Croatia during 2020 suddenly disrupted everyday life and caused psychological disturbances in population. The purpose of the present study was to assess the prevalence of anxiety symptoms and the level of treatment adherence in glaucoma patients during the pandemic. The paper also aimed to evaluate the correlation between anxiety symptoms, treatment adherence and treatment outcomes in the studied cohort.
This cross-sectional study was conducted among primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients at the Department of Ophthalmology, Zagreb University Hospital Center, during one year. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) was used to measure the level of anxiety symptoms. Treatment adherence was estimated by the Culig adherence scale (CAS). Glaucoma damage was determined for each patient from the level of structural and functional impairment of the worse eye, by retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and mean defect (MD), respectively. Statistical analyses were performed, with a P value of less than 0.05 considered being statistically significant.
This study included 113 POAG patients, with a mean age of 65.89 years. The median of the BAI total score in all patients was 10. According to the CAS, 60.2% of patients were non-adherent to glaucoma treatment during the COVID-19 outbreak. The BAI total score was significantly negatively related to adherence to local glaucoma treatment (p<0.001). A significant negative association was also observed between adherence and MD (p=0.017), while no correlation was found between adherence and RNFL thickness (p=0.228).
Considerable proportion of patients with glaucoma have shown non-adherence to treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety severity was associated with lower adherence, thus indirectly influencing therapeutics outcomes. Special consideration should be given to the strategies promoting mental health and interventions focusing on treatment adherence in glaucoma patients in a time of emergencies.
2020 年克罗地亚的新冠疫情和地震突然扰乱了人们的日常生活，并在民众中引发了心理困扰。本研究旨在评估疫情期间青光眼患者焦虑症状的患病率和治疗依从性水平，并评估研究队列中焦虑症状、治疗依从性与治疗结果之间的相关性。
本横断面研究在萨格勒布大学医院中心眼科部门进行，共纳入 113 例原发性开角型青光眼（POAG）患者。采用贝克焦虑量表（BAI）评估焦虑症状水平，用 Culig 依从量表（CAS）评估治疗依从性。通过视网膜神经纤维层（RNFL）厚度和平均缺损（MD）分别评估每只眼的结构和功能损害程度，来确定青光眼损害程度。采用统计学分析，P 值小于 0.05 为有统计学意义。
本研究共纳入 113 例 POAG 患者，平均年龄为 65.89 岁。所有患者的 BAI 总分中位数为 10。根据 CAS，60.2%的患者在新冠疫情期间未遵医嘱治疗青光眼。BAI 总分与局部青光眼治疗的依从性显著负相关（p<0.001）。此外，还观察到依从性与 MD 之间存在显著负相关（p=0.017），但与 RNFL 厚度之间无相关性（p=0.228）。
相当一部分青光眼患者在新冠疫情期间未遵医嘱治疗。焦虑严重程度与较低的依从性相关，从而间接影响治疗效果。在紧急情况下，应特别关注促进心理健康的策略以及针对青光眼患者治疗依从性的干预措施。
