Comparison of the illness perception between age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma patients living in a middle-income country

Abstract

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare the cognitive and emotional representations of illness in patients with primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) living in a developing country. All subjects answered the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) to assess mental defeat. The summed scores were compared among the groups with the ANOVA test. The sample comprised 60 patients with AMD, 64 with POAG and 60 controls. Both AMD and POAG patients scored higher than controls (50.4 ± 10.5, 49.5 ± 14.4, and 10.7 ± 17.6, respectively, p < 0.000). The difference between AMD and POAG did not reach statistical significance (Tukey HSD p = 0.978). Despite different diseases, POAG and AMD patients had similar illness perceptions in a cohort of patients living in a developing country. These results can help patients to take actions to regulate their emotions and improve treatment outcomes of their illness.