Posters

An evaluation of the psychological effect of the use of eye glasses in people with presbyopia

Poster Details

First Author: A.Lioura GREECE

Co Author(s):    E. Kanonidou   A. Papagianni   I. Zampros   T. Lalias   C. Kanonidou   L. Papazisis

Abstract Details

Purpose:

Nowadays people with presbyopia are involved in activities requiring a wide range of vision. They often get frustrated by using glasses for near vision and feel that their life is negatively affected. Additionally, the use of glasses is an unwanted sign of aging. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the emotional impact of the use of glasses in people with presbyopia.

Setting:

Department of Ophthalmology, General Hospital of Veria, Veria, Greece/ Department of Ophthalmology, ‘'Hippokrateion'' General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece/Department of Ophthalmology, 212 Military Hospital of Xanthi, Xanthi, Greece.

Methods:

47 people with presbyopia (22 male and 25 female) with an average age of 49.95 years (SD ± 6.31) participated in the study. All of them were teachers, wore glasses for near vision and had no other ocular disease. The emotional effect of the use of glasses was assessed using a questionnaire completed by the participants.

Results:

19/47 (40.4%) of participants felt frustrated because of the use of glasses. 6/47 (12.8%) had depression, 18/47 (38.3%) was receiving negative comments, and 5/47 (10.6%) felt shame. No one avoided going out with friends because of the glasses. 9/47 (19.15%) were worried about a possible loss of vision, 1/47 (2%) avoided sports because of the use of glasses and the fear of visual loss. The answers to the questions associated with depression showed a positive correlation with the female gender.

Conclusions:

: The emotional effect of the use of glasses is important. These findings should alert health professionals to understand the needs of people with presbyopia and designate personalised methods of handling specific refractive errors, so that individuals respond well to their work or their favorite activity. FINANCIAL INTEREST: NONE