Associations of anxiety disorders, physical activity and open-angle glaucoma: a population-based analysis

To identify the impact of physical activity (PA) on the incidence of anxiety disorders among patients diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma (OAG). A claims dataset extracted from the Korean National Health Insurance Service consisted of 131,195 individuals who were diagnosed with oOAG between 2011 and 2015. Their PA levels prior to and after OAG diagnosis were determined, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) of anxiety disorders depending on their PA levels. The OAG patients included in the study were 58.9 ± 12.6 years old (59.6% males), and 34.4% (n = 27,238; 62.0 ± 11.5 years old, 50.9% males) patients developed anxiety disorders. The average time to anxiety disorders diagnosis was 45.79± 33.14 months. Patients who had high PA levels after glaucoma diagnosis had 9% lower hazard of anxiety disorders diagnosis compared to those patients with low PA levels (HR 0.914, 95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.892-0.937). Elevating PA levels from low to high after OAG diagnosis also led to 6% reduction in the hazard of anxiety disorders among OAG patients (95% CI 0.902-0.971). Patients who maintained high PA levels after OAG diagnosis were also at lower risks of anxiety disorders (HR 0.899, 95% CI 0.871-0.927). Regular PA among OAG patients may contribute to a healthier emotional well-being.