Charles Bonnet Syndrome Prevalence in a Younger Ophtalmology Outpatient Population.

BACKGROUND: In the literature, most of the studies on Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) were performed on older populations. This study aims to determine the prevalence and epidemiology of CBS and the nature of the hallucinations of the younger group of patients from an ophthalmology outpatient clinic of a university hospital.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients were randomly chosen from the outpatient ophthalmology clinic of a university hospital, and those who agreed to participate in the study were included. First, the patients were asked if they had ever seen visions that other people cannot when they were fully awake. The patients who were experiencing this symptom were given sociodemographic questionnaire and Psychiatry Institute Visual Hallucination Questionnaire, and asked to explain their hallucinations in detail. To exclude a psychiatric disorder, the participants were made a psychiatric interview as well.

RESULTS: The study included 19 female (67.9%) and 9 male (32.1%) participants. Five patients (17.9%) were diagnosed with CBS. Average age of the patients diagnosed with CBS was 39.4 (min.31-max.48). Three of the 5 patients (60%) with CBS noted negative emotions (fear, wince and bewilderment) about their hallucinations.

CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CBS (17.9%) we've found is compatible with the medical literature. CBS may also be accompanied by "relatively milder" ophthalmologic problems (myopia, astigmatism, etc.). The hallucinations which CBS patients experience could be quite distressing, and the individuals might have hard times to reveal their complaints because of the apprehension of stigmatization. To inquire this symptom during clinical examination may be the first step to help these individuals.