Social phobia and other psychiatric problems in children with strabismus

Objective: To investigate the rate of social phobia, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric problems in children with strabismus. Design: Prospective, cross-sectional, case-control study. Participants: Forty-two children with strabismus and 47 control subjects 8-13 years of age were enrolled in this study. Methods: After the ophthalmologist's examination, all cases were assessed by a psychiatrist based on the structured interview technique of Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Aged Children-Present and Lifetime Version (Kiddie-SADS-PL). The Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED) was administered to each subject to evaluate social phobia. All participants completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI). Results: Age as well as sex and income were comparable between the strabismus patients and control groups. Social phobia was diagnosed in 8 (19.04%) of the 42 strabismic children and in 1 (2.12%) of the control subjects. The CDI and SCARED (total score, social phobia, separation anxiety) scores of strabismus patients were significantly higher than the control group (p = 0.001, p = 0.004, p = 0.0001, p = 0.05, respectively). Conclusions: A relationship between strabismus in children and social phobia, depression, and anxiety on a symptom basis was underlined by our data.