Prevalence of diagnosed ocular disease in veterans with serious mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the prevalence of diagnosed ocular disease and eye disease treatment between Veteran's Administration (VA) patients with and without serious mental illness (SMI).

METHODS: Retrospective comparison of diagnosed ocular disease and treatment prevalence among patients with and without diagnosed SMI in fiscal year 2011 in the VA Capitol Health Care System (VISN 5).

RESULTS: We identified 6462 VA patients with SMI and 137,933 without SMI. The prevalence of diagnosed ocular disease was 22.7% in SMI patients and 35.4% in non-SMI patients (P<.001). Those with SMI had a higher prevalence of glaucoma (10.2% vs. 7.1%, P<.0001), cataract (12.6% vs. 9.2%, P<.0001) and dry eye (4.0% vs. 2.7%, P<.0001). Less than half (34.3%) of SMI subjects had been seen in ophthalmology or optometry vs. 23.0% of controls (P<.0001).

CONCLUSION: VA patients with SMI have a greater prevalence of diagnosed ocular disease, particularly cataract, glaucoma and dry eye. While SMI patients utilize eye care services at a higher rate than the general VA population, the majority of subjects with SMI do not get recommended annual eye examinations. More consistent annual ocular screening among VA patients with SMI may be indicated.