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Depression is a common risk for people who have lost their vision from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but a new study shows that a type of rehabilitation therapy can cut this risk in half.

As the AMD progresses, it can cause a growing blurred area near the center of vision, and lead to difficulty with everyday activities, including the ability to drive, read, write, watch television, cook, and do housework. Activities that used to be fun and fulfilling may begin to seem burdensome or even impossible. With loss of the ability to drive and navigate unfamiliar places, it becomes easier to stay at home than to see friends or meet new people. All of this can take a toll on mental health, and past studies have found that as many as one-third of people with bilateral AMD develop clinical depression.

In a trial researchers recruited 188 participants with bilateral AMD. Participants were 84 years of age on average, 70 percent were women, and 50 percent lived alone. All had a best-corrected vision of less than 20/70. Each participant had mild depressive symptoms and was at risk for developing clinical depression, based on a nine-item depression subtest of the Patient Health Questionnaire, or PHQ-9. During the trial, the participants had two visits with an optometrist, during which they were prescribed low-vision devices such as handheld magnifiers. After those initial visits, the participants were randomly split into two groups.

One group received behavior activation from an occupational therapist specially trained in the approach. The occupational therapist worked with participants to guide them on using the low-vision devices, to make changes around the home (such as using brighter lights and high-contrast tape), to increase their social activities, and to help them set personal goals and break these down into manageable steps.

The second group of participants served as a control group. They talked about their difficulties to a therapist, but did not receive behavior activation or low-vision occupational therapy. Both groups had six one-hour therapy sessions in their homes over a two-month period. All participants were allowed to take antidepressants, but less than 10 percent did so. All received medical management of AMD as prescribed by their primary eye care providers.

By four months, 12 participants in the control group and seven participants in the behavior activation group had withdrawn from the trial or passed away. Of the remaining 169 participants, 18 (23.4 percent) in the control group and 11 (12.6 percent) in the behavior activation group developed clinical depression, based on retesting with the PHQ-9. Behavior activation had the most benefit for participants with the worst vision (less than 20/100), reducing the risk of depression by about 60 percent compared to controls. When the data were adjusted for vision status, physical health and baseline PHQ-9 score, behavior activation reduced the risk of depression by 50 percent compared to the control treatment.