Psychosocial Sequelae of Visual Loss in Diabetes

Abstract

This study evaluated whether degree of related visual impairment is associated with degree of psychological symptoms in general, and specifically more somatization, depression, anxiety, phobic anxiety, fear of hypoglycemia, and stress. A total of 49 volunteer subjects with diabetes-induced visual impairment were subdivided into totally blind and partially sighted groups, and were compared with 62 nonvisually impaired adults with diabetes. All were given the Brief Symptom Index, the Hypoglycemic Fear Survey, and the Perceived Stress Scale, along with a general questionnaire assessing demographic characteristics. Mean scores of the partially sighted group did not differ from the nonvisually impaired group, but the blind subjects reported more general psychological symptoms, somatization, anxiety, and phobic anxiety. Significantly more blind than sighted subjects exhibited clinical elevations on anxiety, phobic anxiety, and fear of hypoglycemia. Regression analysis confirmed the significant visual loss on psychological functioning and revealed large individual differences in how patients respond to visual loss. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)