Vision impairment remains an important cause of disability with the leading being age-related cataract (ARC) and age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) with depression symptoms often reported in vision impairment. This is a cross-sectional survey of two groups of fifty patients with ARC and ARMD and no prior psychiatric history on depressive symptomatology. Results indicate that ARMD patients scored higher on the BDI-II than ARC patients, in line with their poorer prognosis. Female patients with ARMD, living alone, with a higher number of other comorbid health issues, are more likely to have more depressive symptomatology. ARMD patients scored higher in the items related to pessimism for the future, feelings of past failure and feelings of self-dislike. There is a need for liaison psychiatry services to be readily available in patients with suspected ARC and ARMD coming forward with substantial vision loss. ARMD patients in particular tend to be more pessimistic and blame themselves for the progression of their disease. This should be taken into consideration with patient education on the causes of the disease and more effort should be undertaken to instill hope. The impact of vision loss on psychic status is related to disease prognosis and not only current state.
Keywords: ARMD; Vision impairment; cataract; liaison psychiatry.