Effect of eye trauma on mental health and quality of life in children and adolescents

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of eye traumas on mental health and quality of life of children, adolescents, and their parents. Medical records of 20 children and adolescents presented with blunt and open eye injuries between June 2009 and May 2014 were reviewed. Demographics of patients, timing and type of trauma, findings of initial examination, and medical and surgical interventions applied were recorded. To detect mental health, “Affect disorders and schizophrenia interview chart for school children, now and lifelong” (AFSIC-NL) and “Child Post-Traumatic Stress Reaction Index (CPTSD-RI)” were used. “Pediatric scale of quality of life” (PedsQL) was used to assess quality of life for both parents and children. According to AFSIC-NL, 9 patients were diagnosed with mental disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (n = 3, 15 % patients), generalized anxiety disorder (n = 3, 15 % patients), and major depression (n = 3, 15 % patients). The PedsQL values of both children’s and parents’ were at their lowest in school and physical health domains for children and in physical health domain for parents. A reverse correlation was detected between the number of surgeries and PedsQL-child physical functionality, school functionality, psychosocial functionality, and total scale point. There was a statistically significant relationship between initial visual acuity or lens damage and PedsQL-parent emotional functionality scale. Regarding CPTSD-RI, the parents of these patients have a mild posttraumatic stress disorder. Eye injuries can lead development of psychopathology in children. Therefore, psychiatric support must be provided in follow-up period for these patients.