Impact of Visual Field Loss on Health-Related Quality of Life in Glaucoma

Abstract

Purpose-To examine the association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and visual field (VF) loss in participants with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) in the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study (LALES).Design-Population-based cross-sectional study.Participants-Two hundred thirteen participants with OAG and 2821 participants without glaucoma or VF loss.Methods-Participants in the LALES-a population-based prevalence study of eye disease in Latinos 40 years and older, residing in Los Angeles, California-underwent a detailed eye examination including an assessment of their VF using the Humphrey Automated Field Analyzer (Swedish interactive thresholding algorithm Standard 24-2). Open-angle glaucoma was determined by clinical examination. Mean deviation scores were used to assess severity of VF loss. Health-related QOL was assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire . Linear regression and analysis of covariance were used to assess the relationship between HRQOL scores and VF loss after adjusting for sociodemographic variables and visual acuity. Main Outcome Measures-The 25-item NEI-VFQ and SF-12 scores.Results-A trend of worse NEI-VFQ-25 scores for most subscales was observed with worse VF loss (using both monocular and calculated binocular data). Open-angle glaucoma participants with Correspondence and reprint requests to Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, Doheny Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, 1450 San Pablo Street, Room 4900, Los Angeles, CA 90033. rvarma@usc.edu.. * For Study Group members, see "Appendix" (available at http://aaojournal.org).No conflicting relationship exists for any author. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author Manuscript VF loss had lower scores than participants with no VF loss. This association was also present in participants who were previously undiagnosed and untreated for OAG (N = 160). Participants with any central VF loss had lower NEI-VFQ-25 scores than those with unilateral or bilateral peripheral VF loss. There was no significant impact of severity or location of VF loss on SF-12 scores. Conclusion-Greater severity of VF loss in persons with OAG impacts vision-related QOL.This impact was present in persons who were previously unaware that they had glaucoma. Prevention of VF loss in persons with glaucoma is likely to reduce loss of vision-related QOL.Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of low vision and blindness in adults 40 years and older. It is expected that worldwide the prevalence of glaucoma and associated blindness will increase dramatically during the next 2 decades with the aging of the world population. 1 By 2010, the number of people with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) is expected to exceed 44 million worldwide and 2.7 million in the United States. 1 Glaucoma is a disease that causes damage to the optic nerve, resulting in loss of the peripheral visual field (VF) during early stages of the disease, progressing to central VF loss (...

Daily functioning, problem solving and satisfaction for quality of life in visually impaired old persons

“…These studies usually are based on Health Survey Questionnaire, known as SF-36 [12], a general health status questionnaire, and on the National Eye Institute visual function questionnaire [13] which measures the impact of vision in task oriented domains related to daily VFQ. When studying perceived physical and mental status, visually impaired individuals report poorer health status with more severe impairment [14][15][16][17]. Additionally, they seem to be at increased risk for disabling outcomes such as falls, injury, accidents, inability to drive, social dependence and increased mortality [18][19][20].…”

Relationships Between Measures of the Ability to Perform Vision-Related Activities, Vision-Related Quality of Life, and Clinical Findings in Patients With Glaucoma

“…[2][3][4][5] The impact of glaucoma on individuals can be assessed in 3 different ways: (1) clinical measures (eg, visual acuity [VA], contrast sensitivity, and visual field [VF]), (2) self-reported measurements of subjective well-being and QoL, and (3) performance-based assessments of daily activities. 6,7 Self-reported questionnaires, both specific to glaucoma and general visual function, are widely used to assess how vision ability affects QoL.…”

Quality of Life (QoL) in Glaucoma Patients

“…40,55 Furthermore, there are a series of studies confirming the negative impact of visual field deterioration expressed by means of scores such as MD, pattern standard deviation (PSD), Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study (AGIS) and CIGTS on the total QoL status of individuals with glaucoma. 30,39,46,[57][58][59][60][61][62] These findings are further supported by the presence of the correlation between QoL and VF scores even among individuals who were unaware of having glaucoma. 62 …”

“…30,39,46,[57][58][59][60][61][62] These findings are further supported by the presence of the correlation between QoL and VF scores even among individuals who were unaware of having glaucoma. 62 …”