Loneliness and Mental Wellbeing in People With Inherited Macular Disease

People with vision impairment have lower mental wellbeing than those without eye disease. Loneliness is thought to be associated with lower wellbeing in this population, but the confounding effect of mental ill-health and other factors which affect wellbeing has not been addressed. This study explored associations between loneliness and wellbeing in people with inherited macular disease, controlling for mental ill-health, demographic and clinical factors.

Thirty-six people with inherited macular disease were recruited. Age, visual acuity, duration of disease and socioeconomic status were extracted from hospital notes. Loneliness, depression, anxiety and mental wellbeing were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Wellbeing was compared to a reference population of adults in the UK. Univariate and stepwise multivariate regression was used to examine the association between loneliness and wellbeing, controlling for demographic, clinical and mental health factors.

On average, participants' wellbeing was not significantly different to the reference population (this study: mean: 50.9, sd: 9.68; reference population: mean = 51.4; sd: 9.42; ANOVA, F = 0.10, p = 0.75). Univariate linear regression showed significant associations between wellbeing and loneliness (β = -38.7; 95% CI: -57, -20; p < 0.0001), depression (β = -6.67; 95% CI: -10, -2.9; p < 0.0001) and anxiety (β = -5.37; 95% CI: -8.7, 2.0; p < 0.0001). None of the other demographic and clinical variables were related to wellbeing (all p > 0.05). Stepwise regression revealed loneliness, gender, depression and anxiety to be (together) significantly associated with wellbeing, accounting for 61% of the variance in wellbeing (r² = 0.61).

Loneliness was associated with lower mental wellbeing even after controlling for mental ill-health, demographic and clinical factors. The severity of vision loss cannot be taken as a simple index of likely wellbeing. Interventions which target loneliness may help maximise wellbeing in people with inherited macular disease.