Prevalence and new onset of depression and anxiety among participants with AMD in a European cohort

• Published in: Scientific reports 2020-03, Vol.10 (1), p.4816-12, Article 4816
• Main Authors: Rezapour, Jasmin, Schuster, Alexander K., Nickels, Stefan, Korb, Christina A., Elbaz, Hisham, Peto, Tunde, Michal, Matthias, Münzel, Thomas, Wild, Philipp S., König, Jochem, Lackner, Karl, Schulz, Andreas, Pfeiffer, Norbert, Beutel, Manfred E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 692/308/174; 692/699/3161/1626; 692/699/476/1300; 692/699/476/1414; Acuity; Adult; Age; Aged; Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety Disorders - etiology; Cohort Studies; Depression - epidemiology; Depression - etiology; Europe - epidemiology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Germany - epidemiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Macular degeneration; Macular Degeneration - complications; Macular Degeneration - epidemiology; Male; Mental depression; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Negative Results; Population studies; Prevalence; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61706-8

To investigate the prevalence and new onset of depression and anxiety among subjects with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and its association with AMD in a large European cohort with relatively good visual acuity. 11,834 participants enrolled in the German population-based Gutenberg Health Study were studied. AMD was diagnosed by grading of fundus photographs. Depression and anxiety were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 Scale, respectively. Logistic regression analyses were performed and adjusted for several parameters. 1,089 (9.2%) participants were diagnosed having AMD. Prevalence of depression in AMD and non-AMD participants was 7.2% and 8.0%, respectively and prevalence of anxiety was 4.2% and 7.0%, respectively. New onset of depression and anxiety at 5-year follow-up in AMD subjects was 2.6% and 3.6%, respectively. AMD was not associated with depression (OR 0.93; CI 95% 0.70–1.20; p = 0.62). AMD was associated with less anxiety (OR 0.67; CI 95% 0.47–0.93; p = 0.02). This is the first study analyzing both prevalence and new onset of depression and anxiety in AMD subjects. AMD- and non-AMD participants had a similar prevalence and new onset of depression in our population-based sample. Participants without AMD had a higher prevalence of anxiety. AMD was not associated with depression.