This study examined how depression impacts age-related macular degeneration (AMD) disability among 114 elderly AMD patients. Results indicated that 49 patients met DSM-IV criteria for syndromal depression, and that visual acuity was the only variable significantly associated with vision-specific function. For general function, health was significant, and the relationship between visual acuity and function was only significant for depressed patients. Given that AMD results in high rates of depression and that depression exacerbates physical disability in AMD, devising optimal ways to identify and treat depressed patients in ophthalmology clinics is clearly important.
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