Does Somatic Amplification Effect Patient Reports of Visual Discomfort?
Vision Development & Rehabilitation · 2015
Background: Anomalies in the accommodation or vergence system have been clearly associated with symptoms of visual discomfort. However, there has been little research investigating non-visual factors that could be associated with visual discomfort. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between somatic amplification and visual discomfort as measured by the survey developed by Conlon et al and the Convergence Insufficiency Symptom Survey (CISS) in a group of graduate students. Methods: Fifty-four students between 18 and 30 years of age with 36 being female participated in the study. Students filled out the Somatosensory Amplification Scale (SSAS), and the visual discomfort surveys developed by Conlon et al and the CISS. All students were screened for visual acuity, uncorrected refractive error, and illnesses or medication use that would adversely impact vision. The association between the SSAS and the Conlon et al survey and the CISS was assessed using the Pearson correlations and t-tests were used to compare SSAS scores in students scoring high and low on each survey of visual discomfort. Results: The correlation between the SSAS and the survey developed by Conlon et al was small (r=0.28) as was the association with the CISS (r=0.30). Both correlations were statistically significant, p=0.04 and p=0.03, respectively. The SSAS score was higher in the high discomfort group for the CISS (p=0.006) but this was not replicated with the Conlon et al survey (p=0.09). Conclusions: The SSAS showed a small correlation with the two surveys of visual discomfort that was statistically significant. Somatic amplification has a small impact on symptoms of visual discomfort in our group of graduate students.