Abstract
Purpose :
Loneliness is very prevalent in the older population. People who feel disconnected tend to have trouble in other areas related to social mobility. This was a cross-sectional, observational study to compare the feeling of loneliness between primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients from a developing country.
Methods :
POAG and AMD patients and normal controls underwent a complete eye examination including measurement of best-corrected visual acuity, biomicroscopy, and ophthalmoscopy. After that, all participants completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale a 20-item measure that assesses how often a person feels disconnected from others. The questionnaire score was the main outcome measure and data among the groups were compared with ANOVA.
Results :
The sample comprised 94 patients with POAG, 86 with AMD and 102 controls. The mean age was 66.6 ± 10.4, 73.9 ± 7.0, and 70.9 ± 9.2 years, for POAG, AMD, and controls, respectively. Gender, ethnicity, and comorbidity were evenly distributed among the groups. The UCLA score was 30.0 ± 12.0, 33.2 ± 14.9, and 30.1 ± 13.4 for POAG, AMD, and controls, respectively (P = 0.260). When stratified by severity, 16 patients with POAG, 13 with AMD, and 9 controls presented moderate loneliness (P<0.001); 12 patients with AMD had severe loneliness as compared to 9 POAG and 8 controls (P<0.001).
Conclusions :
Some patients with AMD and POAG have higher loneliness as compared to controls. This may cause them to have relationships problems ultimately affecting their quality of life.
This abstract was presented at the 2024 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Seattle, WA, May 5-9, 2024.