Social phobia and other psychiatric problems in children with strabismus

Strabismus and Health Related Quality of Life in a pediatric Portuguese population

Introduction: Strabismus is a common condition among children, and its psychosocial impact has been demonstrated in recent years. The interest in a more comprehensive approach was enhanced by the recognition of health as a four-dimensional concept, arising the term Health-related Quality of Life. Therefore, we aim to evaluate the influence of strabismus in Health-Related Quality of Life of a Portuguese pediatric population. Material and Methods: Case-control prospective transversal study enrolling children between 5 and 12 years old. All had a complete orthoptic and ophthalmological evaluation, followed by an interview with a legal representative to answer the Pediatric Quality-of-Life Inventory 4.0, proxy-version. Results: Seventy-one children were included, 35 in the control group (CG) and 36 in the strabismus group (SG). In the SG, 30 (83.3%) patients had esotropia, 20 (55.6%) had more than 10 prismatic diopters and 26 (72.2%) were already surgically treated. Overall, SG was not statistically different from the CG, showing only mild inferior performance (p > .05). Furthermore, children with exotropia, higher deviations, none or gross stereoacuity and treatment-naïve, scored worse, especially in emotional, social, educational and psychosocial scores although not statistically significant (p > .05). Conclusion: This is the first prospective study addressing HRQoL and strabismus in a pediatric Portuguese population. It would be relevant to further address this issue in order to delineate more effective and global treatment strategies, not only considering ophthalmological goals but also the well-being of both children and guardians.

Translation and transcultural adaptation of the AS-20 scale to measure quality of life in adults with strabismus in Colombia, a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Strabismus generates a negative psychosocial impact on adult patients, affecting aspects such as self-perception and quality of life. There is no scale in Colombian Spanish that measures these impacts.

OBJECTIVE

To carry out the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the AS-20 instrument into Colombian Spanish.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Pilot test of a cross-sectional Study for the translation, reverse translation, and cross-cultural the AS-20 instrument from its original language, English, to Colombian Spanish, in adult patients with strabismus in Bogotá, Colombia.

RESULTS

16 patients were assessed. The age range was between 18 and 68 years with a mean age of 41 years. The scale was answered in an average time of 10.62min. Difficulty was reported in three individuals for understanding two items (questions 8 and 14), which were resolved.

CONCLUSION

The translation and pilot test of AS-20 scale into Colombian Spanish was carried out, identifying and solving translational difficulties. Is the first step in the cross-cultural adaptation process. Based on the results, the validation and cross-cultural adaptation can be completed in a future study.

Association of Pediatric Strabismus and Functional Impairment: A Cross-sectional Nationwide Analysis

PURPOSE

To examine the association of childhood strabismus with functional limitation to identify particular domains of impairment.

METHODS

The authors analyzed 201 children ages 5 to 17 years with strabismus enrolled in the 1996-2015 Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys, representative annual surveys of the U.S.

POPULATION

Functional impairment was assessed using the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS), a validated measure of behavioral and psychosocial functioning. A CIS score of 16 or greater defined clinically significant functional impairment. Multivariate regression models adjusted for age, sex, race, ethnicity, household income, geographic location, and insurance type were constructed to examine the association of strabismus diagnosis with overall impairment and individual domains of function.

RESULTS

Children diagnosed as having strabismus had higher rates of clinically significant functional impairment compared to those without strabismus (15.1% vs 9.1%, adjusted odds ratio [95% CI]: 1.82 [1.11 to 2.97], P = .02). Moreover, strabismus diagnosis was associated with higher rates of problems with getting along with their mother (1.70 [1.21 to 2.40], P = .003) and father (1.66 [1.16 to 2.38], P = .006), getting along with other children (1.67 [1.16 to 2.40], P = .006), behavior at home (1.94 [1.37 to 2.74], P = .0002), staying out of trouble (1.52 [1.04 to 2.23], P = .03), nervousness (1.49 [1.05 to 2.11], P = .02), and getting involved with sports and hobbies (1.55 [1.03 to 2.34], P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Childhood strabismus is associated with 1.8-fold greater odds of clinically significant functional impairment, with greater dysfunction in specific relationship and behavioral domains. Functional burden may be an important consideration in management decisions. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 20XX;X(X):XX-XX.].

Psychosocial Improvements in Children and Their Parents Following Strabismus Surgery

PURPOSE

To evaluate the psychosocial effects of strabismus surgery, the authors investigated the psychiatric symptoms and quality of life of children with strabismus and their parents.

METHODS

Children with strabismus between 6 and 18 years old (n = 39) and their parents (n = 39) were included. Psychiatric problems and the health-related quality of life were assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist and Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, respectively. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and Beck Anxiety Inventory were administered to children and parents, respectively. All assessments were conducted before and 3 months after strabismus surgery.

RESULTS

Compared with preoperative assessments, children with strabismus had significantly fewer psychiatric problems and a better quality of life after the surgery (P < .001). Following surgery, decreased symptom levels of anxiety scores were also obtained from children and their parents (P < .001). The amount of ocular realignment was directly correlated with improvement in social and attention problems among children (r = 0.354 and r = 0.324, respectively; P < .05).

CONCLUSIONS

Successful strabismus surgery has positive effects on psychosocial functioning and quality of life in children and their families. Surgical interventions seem beneficial for the management of strabismus in improving both physical and mental health. [J Pediatr Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2022;59(4):261-268.].

Altered Brain Activity in Patients With Comitant Strabismus Detected by Analysis of the Fractional Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuation: A Resting-State Functional MRI Study

More and more studies showed that strabismus is not simply an ocular disease, but a neuro-ophthalmology disease. To analyze potential changes in brain activity and their relationship to behavioral performance in comitant strabismus patients and healthy controls. Our study recruited 28 patients with comitant strabismus and 28 people with matched weight, age range, and sex ratio as healthy controls. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we evaluated fALFF to compare spontaneous brain activity between comitant strabismus and healthy controls. We did hospital anxiety and depression scale questionnaires for these patients. We found significantly lower fALFF value in comitant strabismus patients compared with controls in the left frontal superior medial gyrus and the right middle cingulum. In the latter region, fALFF was significantly negatively correlated with the hospital anxiety and depression scale, as well as the duration of disease. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the fALFF method has clear potential for the diagnosis of comitant strabismus patients. These results revealed abnormal spontaneous activity in two brain regions of comitant strabismus patients, which may indicate underlying pathologic mechanisms and may help to advance clinical treatment.

The predictive value of local to remote functional connectivity changes in comitant exotropia patients

BACKGROUND

Comitant exotropia (CE) is a common eye disease with abnormal eye movement, whereas altered synchronous neural activity in CE patients is poorly understood. The purpose of our study was to investigate local to remote functional connectivity of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals changes in CE patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Thirty-four patients and thirty-four healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state MRI scans. The ReHo and FC method was applied to investigate the local to remote functional connectivity changes in CE patients.

RESULTS

Compared to the HC group, CE patients showed significant increased ReHo values in the left cerebellar_crus2 and left middle frontal gyrus. Meanwhile, CE patients showed significant decreased ReHo values in the right middle temporal gyrus, left postcentral gyrus and right angular. Moreover, CE patients showed an increased FC between the cerebellar network, sensorimotor network (SMN) and default-mode network (DMN). The support vector machine (SVM) classification was up to a total accuracy of 94.12%. The AUC of the classification model was 0.99 on the basis of ReHo map.

CONCLUSION

Our result highlights that CE patients had abnormal local to remote functional connectivity in the cerebellar network, SMN, DMN, which might indicate the neural mechanism of eye movements and stereo vision dysfunction in CE patients. Moreover, the SVM algorithm reveals ReHo maps as a potential biomarker for predicting clinical outcomes in CE patients.

Association of Strabismus With Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, and Anxiety Disorders Among Children

Importance

Children with strabismus have poorer functional vision and decreased quality of life than those without strabismus.

Objective

To evaluate the association between strabismus and mental illness among children.

Design, Setting, and Participants

This cross-sectional study analyzed claims data from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse, a longitudinal deidentified commercial insurance claims database, from 12 005 189 patients enrolled in the health plan between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2017. Eligibility criteria included age younger than 19 years at the time of strabismus diagnosis, enrollment in the health plan between 2007 and 2018, and having at least 1 strabismus claim based on International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification and International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Controls were children in the same database with no eye disease codes other than refractive error reported. Demographic characteristics and mental illness claims were compared. Statistical analysis was conducted from December 1, 2018, to July 31, 2021.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Presence of mental illness claims.

Results

Among the 12 005 189 patients (6 095 523 boys [50.8%]; mean [SD] age, 8.0 [5.9] years) in the study, adjusted odds ratios for the association of mental illnesses with strabismus were 2.01 (95% CI, 1.99-2.04) for anxiety disorder, 1.83 (95% CI, 1.76-1.90) for schizophrenia, 1.64 (95% CI, 1.59-1.70) for bipolar disorder, 1.61 (95% CI, 1.59-1.63) for depressive disorder, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.97-1.02) for substance use disorder. There was a moderate association between each strabismus type (esotropia, exotropia, and hypertropia) and anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depressive disorder; odds ratios ranged from 1.23 (95% CI, 1.17-1.29) for the association between esotropia and bipolar disorder to 2.70 (95% CI, 2.66-2.74) for the association between exotropia and anxiety disorder.

Conclusions and Relevance

This cross-sectional study suggests that there was a moderate association between strabismus and anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depressive disorder but not substance use disorder. Recognizing that these associations exist should encourage mental illness screening and treatment for patients with strabismus.

Association of Mood Disorders, Substance Abuse, and Anxiety Disorders in Children and Teens With Serious Structural Eye Diseases

PURPOSE

We sought to evaluate the association between 5 eye diseases (including glaucoma, cataract, congenital optic nerve disease, congenital retinal disease, and blindness/low vision) and mental illness in a pediatric population.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

A de-identified commercial insurance claims database, OptumLabs Data Warehouse, between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2018, was used. Children and teens less than 19 years of age at the time of eye diagnosis were included. Demographics and mental illness claims were compared, looking at the association of mental illness and eye disease claims.

RESULTS

A total of 11,832,850 children and teens were included in this study with mean age of 8.04 ± 5.94 years at the first claim. Of the patients with at least 1 of the 5 eye diseases (n = 180,297), 30.5% had glaucoma (n = 54,954), 9.5% had cataract (n = 17,214), 21.4% had congenital optic nerve disease (n = 38,555), 26.9% had congenital retinal disease (n = 48,562), and 25.9% had blindness or low vision (n = 46,778). There was a statistically significant association, after adjusting for confounding variables, between at least 1 of the 5 eye diseases and schizophrenia disorder (OR = 1.54, 95% CI = 1.48-1.61, P < .001), anxiety disorder (OR = 1.45, 95% CI = 1.43-1.48, P < .001), depressive disorder (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.25-1.29, P < .001), and bipolar disorder (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.21-1.31, P < .001), but a reversed association with substance use disorder (OR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.86-0.90, P < .001).

CONCLUSIONS

We found associations between eye disease in children and teens and mental illness. Understanding these relationships may improve mental illness screening and treatment in the pediatric population.

The impact of strabismus on psychosocial heath and quality of life: a systematic review

Strabismus can hinder an individual's ability to perform daily functions and negatively affect their well-being. I examine the impact strabismus has on psychosocial health and quality of life in children and adults and evaluate the challenges confronted by parents of children with strabismus. Numerous misconceptions exist regarding the impact strabismus has on overall health. Negative attitudes persist toward those affected, resulting in difficulties with self-image. Individuals with strabismus are at increased risk for both visual system and psychiatric disorders. Misinformation regarding available treatment options for children and adults with strabismus continues to exist, resulting in decreased access to care. Improved education of health care providers can increase appropriate referrals and initiation of treatment. Treatment of strabismus is not merely cosmetic and has the potential to improve psychosocial health and quality of life for children and adults with and without diplopia.

The Interface Between Psychiatry and Ophthalmology

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this article is to review the interface between psychiatry and ophthalmology at several levels, such as the influence of psychopharmacology on eye disorders, the occurrence of psychiatric symptoms in eye diseases, and the neuroophthalmological examination methods supporting the validity of psychiatric diagnoses.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We searched the PubMed computer database for the key words "Psychiatry" and "Ophthalmology" on the 28th of August, 2018 to obtain relevant articles which were consequently summarized.

RESULTS

The results showed that most patients with ocular disease simultaneously have one or more psychiatric symptoms. We also found a prevalence of eye-related side effects in patients who use psychiatric drugs. At the same time, we observed that some ophthalmology methods of diagnostics can be used as diagnostic tools in psychiatry.

CONCLUSIONS

Most studies showed a significant relation between psychiatry and ophthalmology, such as eye symptoms and diseases following long-term use of psychotropics as well as psychiatric symptoms and syndromes in patients with eye disorders. Our review may be beneficial to psychiatrists, ophthalmologists, and, last but not least, the patients themselves.

Improvement in psychiatric symptoms after strabismus surgery in adolescent patients in long-term follow-up

Aims

To assess the psychological effects of preoperative primary eye position and surgical correction of strabismus in adolescent patients.

Methods

Eighty-three adolescent patients with exotropia were included in this observational and prospective study. Patients with preoperative manifest exotropia formed the manifest exotropia group. Patients with intermittent exotropia that had orthophoria with overcorrecting minus lenses and recently increased frequency of manifest phase were indicated for surgery and formed the latent deviation group. All patients were scored with the Turkish version of the Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS), depression subscale of Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD-D) Brief Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (BFNE), state anxiety subscale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-S) and trait anxiety subscale of State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T) before and 1 year after strabismus surgery.

Results

The mean preoperative scores of the HAD-D, SAAS, BFNE, STAI-S and STAI-T before strabismus surgery were significantly higher in the manifest exotropia group than in the latent deviation group (p≤0.001 for all). Surgical correction significantly improved the outcomes of all scales in the manifest exotropia group (p≤0.001 for all). Outcomes of the STAI-S and STAI-T significantly improved in the latent deviation group after the surgery (p=0.008, p=0.006, respectively), whereas outcomes of the HAD-D, SAAS and BFNE did not improve (p=0.079, p=0.071, p=0.127, respectively). The mean postoperative scores of all scales did not differ between the two groups (p>0.05 for all).

Conclusions

Strabismus has psychological consequences in adolescent patients, and the visible eye deviation caused by strabismus is a strong indicator of psychological distress.

Difference of Self-identity Levels between Strabismus Patients and Normal Controls

Purpose

To evaluate differences in self-identity in patients diagnosed with strabismus, patients who underwent strabismus surgery, and healthy control individuals.

Methods

Self-identity testing was done during a military service physical examination. There were three subject groups: subjects with strabismus (group 1), subjects who had undergone corrective strabismus surgery (group 2), and subjects free of strabismus (group 3). The self-identity test was comprised of six sub-sections (subjectivity, self-acceptance, future confidence, goal orientation, initiative, and familiarity). Statistical significance of the sub-sections was compared across the three groups. Correlations in age at the time of surgery and across the six sub-sections were investigated in group 2.

Results

A total of 351 subjects were enrolled in the study; 96 subjects were in group 1, 108 subjects were in group 2, and 147 subjects were in group 3. Significant differences were evident in subjectivity, self-acceptance, initiative and familiarity between groups 1 and 3. No significant differences were found between groups 2 and 3. In group 2, statistical significance was evident between age at surgery and initiative and familiarity (r = −0.333, p < 0.001; r = −0.433, p < 0.001, respectively).

Conclusions

Self-identity is greater in non-strabismus subjects than strabismus subjects. Correction of strabismus may increase self-identity levels.

A functional MRI study of altered spontaneous brain activity pattern in patients with congenital comitant strabismus using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to use amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) to investigate local features of spontaneous brain activity in patients with congenital comitant strabismus and clarify their relationship with emotional and psychosocial problems.

METHODS

A total of 20 patients with congenital comitant strabismus (ten males and ten females), and 20 healthy controls (ten males and ten females) closely matched in age, sex, and education underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The ALFF method was used to assess local features of spontaneous brain activity. Congenital comitant strabismus patients were distinguished from healthy controls by receiver operating characteristic curve. Correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationships between the observed mean ALFF signal values of the different areas and the Chinese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.

RESULTS

Compared with healthy controls, patients with congenital comitant strabismus had significantly lower ALFF in the bilateral medialfrontal gyrus and higher values in the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and left angular gyrus. In the congenital comitant strabismus group, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-depression score showed a negative correlation with the ALFF signal values of the bilateral medial frontal gyrus (r=-0.550, P=0.012) and a negative correlation was noted between the mean ALFF signal values of the left angular gyrus and strabismus duration (r=-0.515, P=0.020).

CONCLUSION

Congenital comitant strabismus mainly involves dysfunction in the bilateral medial frontal gyrus, bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe, and left angular gyrus, which may reflect the underlying pathologic mechanism of congenital strabismus.

Alcohol use and positive screening results for depression and anxiety are highly prevalent among Chinese children with strabismus

PURPOSE

To study associations between strabismus and alcohol use, anxiety, and depression among 10- to 17-year-old children in Guangdong, southern China.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional, population-based study.

METHODS

Among 7537 children aged 6-17 years from 9 randomly selected primary and middle schools, ocular alignment was assessed with the Hirschberg light reflex, cover-uncover testing, and alternate cover testing at distance (6 m) and near (40 cm). Additionally, 4000 children (53.1%) aged 10+ years received self-administered questionnaires containing screening questions on alcohol use, anxiety, and depression.

RESULTS

Examinations were completed on 7464 of 7537 subjects (99.0%), including 3928 boys (52.6%), with a mean age of 11.1 ± 1.8 years. The prevalence of any strabismus, including exotropia (2.7%), esotropia (0.2%), and intermittent exotropia (3.9%), was 6.8%. Strabismus was more prevalent in urban students (7.3%) and female subjects (7.4%) compared to rural students (6.0%) and male subjects (6.2%) (all P < .05). In multivariate regression models, any strabismus was associated with older age and rural vs urban residence. Among 3903 children (97.6%) answering questionnaires, history of alcohol use (62.3% vs 36.3%) and positive screening responses for depression (26.0% vs 11.6%) and anxiety (10.3% vs 4.9%) were significantly (P < .01 for all) more common among children with strabismus.

CONCLUSION

These Chinese children with strabismus had a significantly higher prevalence of alcohol use and possible markers of emotional problems than children without strabismus. Further research should focus on the appropriateness of classifying surgical treatment for strabismus as "cosmetic" (ineligible for reimbursement) under China's rural health insurance.