Objective:

To evaluate the association between major eye diseases and loneliness scores in patients with diagnosed ocular conditions.

Approach:

• Study Design: Cross-sectional analysis of 61,349 patients from the NIH All of Us cohort who completed the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
• Participants: Patients with at least one diagnosed ocular condition, excluding those without a history of eye care.
• Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was a UCLA Loneliness Scale score above the cohort median, adjusted for various sociodemographic factors.

Key Findings:

• Self-reported blindness was associated with 1.61 times the odds of high loneliness scores in adjusted analyses.
• Diabetic retinopathy was associated with high loneliness scores in adjusted analyses, with proliferative diabetic retinopathy at 1.28 times and nonproliferative at 1.16 times the odds.
• No association was found between glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration and high loneliness scores after adjustment.

Interpretation:

The association between diabetic retinopathy and loneliness may reflect factors beyond vision loss alone, potentially related to systemic health outcomes of diabetes.

Limitations:

• Cross-sectional design limits causality determination.
• Blindness assessed by self-report rather than structured visual acuity measures.
• Cohort predominantly White, which may limit generalizability.
• Potential selection bias may also be present.

Conclusion:

Loneliness was associated with self-reported blindness and diabetic retinopathy but not with glaucoma or age-related macular degeneration.

Sources:

• JAMA Ophthalmology