People with Self-reported Vision Difficulty Experience Heightened Anxiety, Depression

In this large cross-sectional study, individuals who self-reported vision challenges were at least twice as likely to be diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression and also presented with more severe mental health symptoms. The authors highlighted the necessity for greater collaboration between eyecare and mental health professionals to ensure comprehensive interventions that address both visual and psychological health challenges. Photo: Mihalache A, et al. Can J Ophthalmol. October 15, 2025. Click image to enlarge. The impact of low vision and blindness extends far beyond physical limitations, often leading to significant emotional challenges such as sadness, anxiety and depression. Research suggests a bidirectional relationship, where vision loss and mental health disorders exacerbate each other, and these effects can persist throughout an individual's life. In a new retrospective, cross-sectional study, which sought to provide updated national data on the connections between self-reported vision difficulties and anxiety and depression in the United States, the authors found that visually impaired individuals suffer more severe mental health symptoms than those with normal vision.The study used data from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey, including a diverse cohort of 27,640 adults, with 5,210 participants (approximately 19%) self-reporting vision difficulties. The primary outcome was the association between these reported vision difficulties and the presence of anxiety or depression diagnoses. To clarify the relationship between the two, the researchers adjusted for various sociodemographic factors including age, gender and socioeconomic status.The findings revealed that adults who reported having vision challenges had significantly higher odds of being diagnosed with anxiety disorders, with an odds ratio of 2.00. Furthermore, the severity of their anxiety symptoms, as measured by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale, was also greater among those with vision difficulties, yielding an odds ratio of 2.67.Similar patterns emerged for depressive disorders, where individuals with self-reported vision issues were more than twice as likely to exhibit depressive symptoms (odds ratio: 2.31), which were also more severe than in individuals without visual impairment. The table below summarizes the different severities of anxiety and depression symptoms among participants with and without reported vision difficulty:Symptom SeverityAnxiety Depression Vision DifficultyNo Vision DifficultyVision DifficultyNo Vision DifficultyMild16%10%21%12%Moderate7%3%9%3%Severe6%2%7%2% Not only did individuals with self-reported vision difficulty experience heightened symptoms, but they were also 71% more likely to use mental health treatments, including medications and therapy. The analysis also showed that the use of corrective eyewear, such as glasses or contact lenses, was associated with increased odds of reporting these mental health concerns, which the researchers suggest highlights that simply addressing vision impairment through correction does not mitigate the psychological ramifications associated with it. “Our analysis advocates for the development of more integrated interventions by ophthalmologists, mental health professionals, primary care physicians and geriatricians to mitigate vision impairment and improve psychosocial well-being in adults of all ages,” the researchers wrote in their paper. This multidisciplinary collaboration, they concluded, will be essential to devise treatment plans “to target the bidirectional relationship between vision loss and mental health.”Click here for the journal source. Mihalache A, Huang RS, Zajner C, et al. Mental health and vision difficulty in adults: a population-based analysis. Can J Ophthalmol. October 15, 2025. [Epub ahead of print].This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.