Elevated anxiety levels in central serous chorioretinopathy
Reviewed by Sofia Rokerya

This prospective cross-sectional case-control, questionnaire-based study was aimed to compare association of anxiety disorder in patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) and age-gender-matched healthy controls. Participants in the age group of 18–55 years were divided into 2 groups. Group A represented treatment naïve CSCR, and group B comprised of age and gender matched normal controls. The Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A) was administered to both groups for anxiety rating. The anxiety scores were graded as follows: no/minimal anxiety <7, mild 8–14, moderate 15–23, severe >24. The study recruited 100 participants in each arm. There was a male preponderance in both groups, with a mean age of 39.61 ±6.07 years in group A and 40.07 ±8.74 years in group B. Among those with CSCR, 16% had mild anxiety, 46% moderate, 36% had severe, and 2% did not have any anxiety, while in the control population, 13% had moderate anxiety, and 1 had severe anxiety. The odds of those with CSCR having anxiety were 5 times more than the controls (OR 5.71 [4.20-7.22], p<0.0001). This study highlights a significant association between anxiety and CSCR. The findings suggest that anxiety plays a role in the onset or exacerbation of CSCR, emphasising the importance of psychological assessment in these patients. Identifying and addressing anxiety in individuals with CSCR could potentially improve patient outcomes, however it merits further research to determine the impact of therapeutic interventions such as counselling or anxiolytic therapy. Future studies should consider longitudinal designs and multicentre participation to validate these findings and explore the potential avenues of integrated mental health care for patients with CSCR. Limitations: (1) single centre cohort from the same country i.e. Indian Asians; (2) exclusion of individuals with recurrent or chronic CSCR; (3) anxiety grading employed as the sole measure for psychological assessment; and (4) as a cross-sectional study, it did not involve follow-up of patients diagnosed with anxiety, thereby precluding the evaluation of the impact of counselling or anxiolytic treatment on CSCR outcomes.

Elevated anxiety levels in central serous chorioretinopathy: evidence from a prospective case-control study.
Joshi S, Sindal MD, Umate M, Chhablani J.
OPHTHALMOLOGICA
2026;249:167–74.