Page 43 - JCBP-2-3

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Emotions in anophthalmic patients

Table 1. (Continued)
Total (N=100) PHQ‑9 score (mean±SD) P GAD‑7 score (mean±SD) P
Satisfaction of wearing prosthetic eyes <0.001 <0.001
Uncomfortable 11 (11%) 8.455±1.214 8.273±1.737
General comfortable 63 (63%) 5.079±1.371 5.286±1.570
Very comfortable 26 (26%) 3.000±0.894 2.885±1.211
Abbreviations: PHQ-9: Patient Health Questionnaire-9; GAD-7: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7.

Figure 1. Composition of patients with varying degrees of depression and
anxiety
Figure 2. Violin charts of Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 and Patient
4. Discussion Health Questionnaire-9 scale score distribution
Owning good-looking or even functional eyes are
perceived as contributing hugely to one’s interpersonal prosthesis, and the satisfaction with the ocular prosthesis
communication and esthetics. Consequently, the were all found to be associated with psychological distress.
psychological implications of globe enucleation can These elements could generate unpleasant experiences
be substantial and far-reaching in patients’ lives. The when wearing ocular prostheses. Another possible reason
previous studies have demonstrated that patients with may be about social interaction, body image, and self-
globe enucleation suffered from increased psychological esteem issues. In social contexts, patients with artificial
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symptoms. Although some studies suggested that wearing eyes may be discriminated against, ultimately subjected to
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ocular prosthesis can mitigate depression and anxiety by the negative impacts on their self-image and self-esteem.
improving patients’ satisfaction, our study reveals that the Participants residing in rural areas were found to
prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms remains experience more severe depressive symptoms than those
high among patients with ocular prostheses, which was living in urban areas. In comparison to urban areas, rural
55% and 51%, respectively. This finding may indicate areas tend to have less comprehensive medical care services,
that the mental health concerns among globe enucleation which could lead to more complications with ocular
patients tended to persist even after they wore ocular prosthesis wearing. Geographical area of residence has a
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prostheses. Interesting, the total scores of PHQ-9 and great influence on one’s income status, which is a crucial
GAD-7 were at low ranges in our study. This may imply that factor determining the quality of eye care products used.
many patients with ocular prostheses would suffer from This can be exemplified by the struggles of patients from
depressive and anxiety symptoms, which are subtler than rural areas with affording high-quality prosthetic implants,
depressive or anxiety disorders. Lighter interventions, such or even just the basic cleaning and soothing drugs. Using
as psychotherapy or low dose of antidepressants, may be low-quality products may raise the possibility of eye
sufficient to treat these depressive and anxiety symptoms. secretions, bacterial infections and other ocular health
The issues surrounding the ocular prosthesis itself, or its issues, which may lastly induce psychological distress.
use, are cited as a potential cause of the high prevalence of The present study also found that patients with right-
depressive and anxiety symptoms. Factors such as the type eye blindness were more likely to experience anxiety
of ocular prosthesis material, the time of wearing ocular symptoms. Previous research showed that the majority

Volume 2 Issue 3 (2024) 5 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.1761