Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Introduction Keratoconus is a progressive disease of the cornea that usually begins at puberty and progressively causes reduction of quantity and quality of visual acuity and ocular discomfort and poor Visual acuity when corrected with spectacles or ill ftting contact lenses. Gradual reduction in quantity and quality of visual acuity in these young adults who have so far lead an active life style can lead to mental stress. Contact lenses play a vital role in restoration of visual function. The patient visiting an ophthalmologist is commonly recommended surgical procedure options like interstromal rings, cross linking and penetrating keratoplasty. Quality of life despite satisfactory results on visual outcome measures obtained after PK remains impaired. 1 Most of these patients have to still wear contact lenses after such treatments. Non availability of good rigid contact lens ftters is one reason reason of letting patient continue with speactacles which provide just manageable quality and quantity of vision. Only a few studies have so far been conducted to estimate the incidence and prevalence of the condition, and, although the incidence varies somewhat from to country to country, a 1986 population-based study in the US indicated that approximately 5 in 10,000 people have Keratoconus. Similarly, a study in Central India indicated prevalence as 0.0003%-2.3. 2 Keratoconus is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The exact contribution of each to the aetiology is as yet unknown. Keratoconus afects both genders, although it is unclear whether signifcant diferences between males and females exist. 3‒5 As the prevalence of keratoconus is low, many public health policy makers view the disease as a minor concern when contrasted with eye diseases such as glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration. 1, 5 However the concerns are severe because this disorder has onset only in young adults and disability sets in age that efects their education and career. The progression of disorder further leads to poor unided visual acuity and stress to the patient. Mental health Mental health is a state of emotional and psychological well-being in which an individual is able to use his or her cognitive and emotional capabilities, function in society, and meeting the ordinary demands of J Psychol Clin Psychiatry. 2016;6(7):14‒12. 1 ©2016 Banerjee et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestrited use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. Mental health status of the keratoconus patients visually corrected with contact lens compared to spectacles Volume 6 Issue 7 - 2016 Padmakali Banerjee, Monica Chaudhry, Amita Puri, Karthick Jothi Emeritus Professor, Institute of Behavioural Science, Gujarat Forensic Sciences University, India Correspondence: Amita Puri, Amity University, India, Tel 098- 7105-449, Email Received: September 19, 2016 | Published: December 21, 2016 Abstract Aim of the Study: To analyse the mental health status and psychological well being of the keratoconus patients using rigid contact lenses compared to spectacle corrected ones. The objective is to study if the correcting vision with contact lenses impacts the mental health status of the patients sufering from keratoconus. Methodology: In the month of January to April, 2015 a cross sectional study was conducted in Ahooja eye hospital, Gurgaon, Haryana, India and Rajan eye care hospital, Tnagar, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Thirty two keratoconus patients were enrolled for the study and subjects were asked to the mental health status questionnaire MHI 38 with informed consent. Fifteen were habitual contact lens wearers and seventeen non contact lens wearers who volunteered to participate this study. Study included those contact lens users who wore lenses all waking hours and had been wearing them for atleast one year. All the questions were score coded for entering the data in Microsoft Excel sheet. The status of mental health was based on eight indicises which provided information on mental well being. Results: 17 males and 15 females participated in this study. The mean age of the participant was 28.03± 5.56 (range 20-39 years). The mean score of keratoconus patients of non contact lens wearer and contact lens wearer in Anxiety was 32.84 ± 2.99 &18.79 ± 3.67, Depression 13.34 ± 4.08 & 7.71 ± 2.19, Loss of behavioural / Emotion Control 30.29 ± 2.22 & 22.77 ± 6.70, General Positive Afect 49.00 ± 3.86 & 29.73 ± 4.48, Emotion Ties 10.17 ± 1.44 & 5.28 ± 1.71, Life Satisfaction 3.44 ± 0.96 & 4.94 ± 0.73, Psychological Distress 81.28 ± 4.48 & 53.15 ± 9.62, Psychological Well Being 41.15 ± 4.75 & 69.08 ± 5.26, Mental Health Index 119.81 ± 5.53 & 185.82 ± 11.03 respectively. Our results show that P value is <0.05 is statistically signifcant in all subscales and on the global scale variable of MHI 38. It suggests those who wear contact lenses have signifcantly better life satisfaction and Mental Health. Proper contact lens option as vision correction in Keratoconus patients improves the mental health status and are more positive in attitude compared to non users. A successful contact lens ft infuences the mental health status compared to those who do not opt to wear it. Conclusion: Eye care practitioners should motivate and proactively advise contact lenses to patients with Keratoconus as they will have better life satisfaction and psychological well being. Keywords: psychological well being, keratoconus patients, mental health status Journal of Psychology and Clinical Psychiatry Research Article Open Access