Daily activities change is linked to acute angle closure occurrence in COVID-19 co-infected patients

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To analyze the influence of daily activity-related factors associated with COVID-19 infection on the occurrence of acute angle closure (AAC). Methods A multicenter hospital-based study was conducted at 23 ophthalmic centers in 17 provincial-level regions across China to recruit patients with confirmed AAC during the post-lockdown time of COVID-19 (P-TOC) from Dec 7, 2022, to Jan 17, 2023, and three lockdown time of COVID-19 (TOC) periods, which included the TOC-2022 (Sep 7, 2022 - Dec 6, 2022), TOC-2021(Sep 7, 2021 - Jan 6, 2022) and TOC-2020 (Sep 7, 2020 - Jan 6, 2021). Patient information, including demographic, a questionnaire on daily activity changes during the AAC period, COVID-19 history, and eye examination results, was collected. Results The study involved 3216 AAC cases, with 76.2% being female and 78.9% aged over 60 years. AAC occurrences during P-TOC was nearly tripled compared to the corresponding months in TOC-2021 and TOC-2020. Patients with AAC comorbidity and COVID-19 had significantly higher water intake (37.3% vs. 2.2%, p < 0.001) and poorer sleep quality (49.16% vs. 4.07%, p < 0.001) than those without COVID-19 comorbidity, while about 58.4% of these patients received antipyretic analgesic drugs for symptom management. The COVID-19 group showed higher intraocular pressure as well as worse uncorrected distance visual acuity, when compared to non-COVID-19 patients. Conclusions The relationship between AAC occurrence and daily activity factors associated with COVID-19 suggests that patient management should account for changes in daily activities.

Keywords

• Acute angle closure
• Daily activity
• COVID-19