Background:

The slowly progressive corneal disorder keratoconus significantly impairs eyesight and quality of life, thereby increasing the likelihood of depression in those who have it. Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at the AL-Ibrahim Eye Hospital in Karachi, the purpose of this study was to determine how frequently anxiety and depression occur in keratoconus patients.

Methods:

A descriptive analytical study was conducted at the Al –Ibrahim eye hospital Karachi, in March to April 2021, and patients diagnosed with symptomatic keratoconus were recruited through a non-probability convenient sampling technique. After written informed consent from patients, the severity of keratoconus was assessed using Visual acuity and corneal topography. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed through Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HADS) scale. Data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS V.20.0. Mean and ± SD was computed for continuous variables like age and visual acuity. Frequency and percentage was calculated for qualitative variables like gender and severity of keratoconus. Spearman's correlation was used to check the correlation between the severity of Keratoconus and the HADS score.

Results:

A total of 108 participants, of which 60 (56%) were female and 48 (44%) were male. By employing the Hospital Anxiety Depression scale (HADS), 44 (40.7%) patients were classified as normal with a HADS score of (0-7), 23 (21.3%) as borderline with a HADS score of (8-10) and 41 (38%) patients were diagnosed with anxiety and depression with a HADS score of (11-21). 

Conclusion:

Depression and anxiety are very common among keratoconus patients, especially in the advanced stages of the disease.