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Prevalence of Convergence Insufficiency in Parkinson's Disease
Elizabeth L Irving1, Estefania Chriqui2,3, Caroline Law2,3
1School of Optometry and Vision Science University of Waterloo Waterloo ON Canada.
Background:
We recently reported that convergence insufficiency (CI)-type visual symptomatology was more prevalent in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD), compared to controls. The objective of this work was to determine the prevalence of a confirmed clinical diagnosis of CI in PD, compared to controls.
Methods:
Participants with (n = 80) and without (n = 80) PD were recruited and received an eye exam. Published criteria were used to arrive at a clinical diagnosis of CI. The Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS-15) questionnaire was administered to each participant, with a score of ≥21 being considered positive for CI symptomatology. Student t test, chi-square, or nonparametric tests at the 0.05 level were used for statistical significance.
Results:
A total of 43.8% of participants with versus 16.3% without PD had a clinical diagnosis of CI (P ≤ 0.001). A total of 53.8% of participants with versus 18.8% without PD had scores on the CISS-15 of ≥21 (P ≤ 0.001).
Conclusions:
These results indicate that individuals with PD have a higher prevalence of CI and CI symptomatology than controls. These data provide evidence supporting the notion that treatment for symptomatic CI should be investigated in individuals with PD.