Pseudomyopia and Its Association With Anxiety

Abstract

Pseudomyopia is an inappropriately excessive accommodation of the eye due to overstimulation or ciliary spasm, which leads to a marked approximation of the far point. Common symptoms of pseudomyopia include eye strain or fatigue, and it is classified as organic or functional. The latter is due to eye strain and functional increase in the ciliary tonus. Pseudomyopia can vary from being a transient condition or continue to progress to myopia. Head trauma is the most common cause followed by psychiatric illnesses, neurologic diseases, and drug-induced causes. There is an association between psychological stress-inducing events and pseudomyopia as it affects the autonomic nervous system. The human body counteracts anxiety by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, causing ciliary muscle contraction. Underlying psychiatric diseases in pseudomyopia patients have been reported in the past in multiple studies. Generalized anxiety disorder is the most common psychiatric illness associated with pseudomyopia with a positive correlation between anxiety-somatization scores and accommodation amount of the eye. It is strongly advised that a psychiatric consultation should be included in the multidisciplinary evaluation of every case. If patients have coexisting anxiety disorders, a multidisciplinary approach using psychiatric consultations, work environment changes, ocular exercises, and cycloplegic drugs can be used. This review aims to shed light on the association of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety with pseudomyopia.