SELECTED OCULAR INDEX AND DEPRESSION AMONG CAREGIVERS

ABSTRACT

Depression is becoming a pandemic and caregivers are not excluded from this situation. Caregivers must deal with their own individual needs in addition to that of their wards. Caregiving has evolved as an important issue not only for patients receiving care, but for those providing it as well. While caregiving allows those with disabilities to better adapt, it has been shown to take a toll on the caregiver on various levels, such as invoking depression. Evidence shows that more than one-third of caregivers continue to provide intense care to others while suffering from poor oculo-visual status themselves. This was an observational study consisting of 60 caregivers who responded to the Patient Depression Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and had their visual acuity examined. 19 (31.7%) male and 41 (68.3%) female caregivers participated in this study. All participating caregivers has some level of depression as shown from their PHQ-9 scores. This study showed that there was no significant difference between the visual acuities of the right and left eyes in both genders (p>0.05). Visual acuity between caregivers without depressive symptoms and major depressive disorder showed no significant difference (p>0.05) and there was no significant difference in the severity of the various levels of depression. There was a higher prevalence of female caregivers than male and there was no significant difference in the severity of the various levels of depression among the caregivers.