Publication Name	World Journal of Clinical Cases
Manuscript ID	117692
Country	Italy

Category	Ophthalmology
Manuscript Type	Observational Study
Article Title	When eye disease affects the mind: Psychological burden and functioning in autoimmune ophthalmology
Manuscript Source	Invited Manuscript
All Author List	Matteo Capobianco, Marco Zeppieri, Simonetta Gaia Nicolosi, Giuseppe Daniele Faro, Daniele Salanitro, Marieme Khouyyi, Fabiana D’Esposito and Caterina Gagliano
Funding Agency and Grant Number
Corresponding Author	Marco Zeppieri, Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital of Udine, p. le S. Maria della Misericordia 15, Udine 33100, Italy. mark.zeppieri@asufc.sanita.fvg.it
Key Words	Rare ophthalmic disease; Autoimmune disease; Psycho-ophthalmology; Anxiety; Depressive symptoms; Quality of life; Consultation-liaison psychiatry
Core Tip	Patients living with rare and autoimmune eye diseases frequently face chronic pain, fear of blindness, diagnostic uncertainty, and disruption of social and work roles. In this pilot psycho-ophthalmology case series from an integrated ophthalmology-psychology clinic, about half of the patients showed clinically relevant anxiety, and many reported markedly impaired physical and, to a lesser extent, mental quality of life, despite the small sample size. Systematic use of brief standardized instruments (hospital anxiety and depression scale and 12-item short form health survey), combined with a focused clinical interview, proved feasible in routine care and directly informed decisions about psychological or psychiatric referral. Embedding mental health assessment within ophthalmology services may help clinicians identify vulnerable patients earlier, address emotional distress and maladaptive coping, and ultimately support better adaptation to chronic visual disease and complex immunomodulatory treatments.
Citation	Capobianco M, Zeppieri M, Nicolosi SG, Faro GD, Salanitro D, Khouyyi M, D’Esposito F, Gagliano C. When eye disease affects the mind: Psychological burden and functioning in autoimmune ophthalmology. World J Clin Cases 2026; In press

Received	2025-12-15 01:26
Peer-Review Started	2025-12-15 01:26
First Decision by Editorial Office Director	2025-12-31 07:52
Return for Revision	2025-12-31 07:52
Revised	2026-01-01 19:30
Publication Fee Transferred
Second Decision by Editor	2026-01-16 02:39
Second Decision by Editor-in-Chief
Final Decision by Editorial Office Director	2026-01-16 06:04
Articles in Press	2026-01-16 06:04
Edit the Manuscript by Language Editor
Typeset the Manuscript

ISSN	2307-8960 (online)
Open Access	This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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