Abstract
Purpose :
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, news related to the pandemic have created a feeling of fear, particularly among high-risk groups including elderly patients. We performed a prospective, cross-sectional study to assess the fear associated with COVID-19 and the fear of vision decrease related to the delay of treatment in neovascular age related macular degeneration patients (nAMD) during the pandemic.
Methods :
160 actively treated nAMD patients were enrolled between September to November 2020 in a tertiary university hospital in Québec, Canada. Exclusion criteria included: patients with memory disorders and patients with incomplete questionnaire. For each participant, demographic and clinical data were collected. The fear was rated in a questionnaire composed of two sections: the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and eight additional questions to assess ophthalmology-related COVID-19 statements. A multivariate linear regression model was built for FCV-19S score and a multivariable ordinal regression model for ophthalmology-related statements.
Results :
The mean level of FCV-19S was 17.05±4.38. In the multivariate analysis, it was significantly higher in women (p<0.001) and patients with elementary school level (compared to high school education level) (p=0.009). In the ophthalmology-related statements, 16% of patients feared vision loss because of difficulties in maintaining regular follow-ups during the pandemic. The female gender was significantly associated with a higher tendency to postpone their appointment (p=0.03) and to prefer “sacrificing” their vision to avoid contracting COVID-19 (p=0.05). No association was found between the patients’ underlying nAMD characteristics (visual acuity, bilaterality, duration) and higher fear of vision loss.
Conclusions :
Despite the massive impact the pandemic has had on our functioning in most aspects of life, the anxiety related to COVID-19 and delaying ophthalmology treatments remained relatively low in nAMD patients. Greater explanations to address this fear may reduce anxiety level, especially among female patients and those with an elementary school education level.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.