Drop in Mental Health Scores Seen With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Diagnosis

MONDAY, June 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Diagnosis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with a reduction in mental health scores, according to a study published online June 5 in JAMA Ophthalmology.

Mae O. Gordon, Ph.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues conducted a post-hoc analysis of prospective data from the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) phase 1 and 2 among all participants with ocular hypertension to examine whether mental health status as assessed by the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ) decreases after diagnosis of POAG. Participants completed a VFQ within two years before and within two years after POAG diagnosis. Controls were propensity-matched participants with ocular hypertension who did not develop POAG during the same period.

Fifty participants developed POAG and met the criteria for inclusion; they were matched to 100 OHTS control participants who did not develop POAG. The researchers found that the mean pre-POAG and post-POAG VFQ mental health scores were 94.5 and 88.0, respectively, among participants who developed POAG, for a mean change of −6.5. The mean preperiod and postperiod VFQ mental health scores in the matched control group were 93.3 and 92.6, respectively, for a mean change of −0.7. The mean difference in pre- and post-VFQ mental health scores was −5.8 between the POAG and control groups.

“As advances in technology enable earlier diagnosis of POAG, the impact of POAG diagnosis itself on mental health becomes increasingly relevant,” the authors write.

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