Improving health‐related quality of life in glaucoma during 11 years and its association with vision loss and treatment of the disease

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of glaucoma on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health in the ageing population of Finland. Methods: Altogether 7380 and 5774 Finnish individuals aged 30 years and older with known eye disease status were studied in 2000 and 2011, respectively, in two population-based surveys, including an 11-year follow-up of 4683 participants. Data on HRQoL (EQ-5D-3L, 15D), depression (BDI), psychological distress (GHQ-12) and eye disease diagnoses were obtained from self-reported assessments. Information on glaucoma was complemented with the medication, diagnosis and eye surgery data obtained from the Finnish Health Registries. Distance visual acuity was assessed using the Snellen eye chart test. In logistic regression analyses, data were corrected for age, gender and the most common comorbidities. Results: Glaucoma patients with verified diagnosis (n = 192 in 2000, n = 202 in 2011) and individuals with self-suspected glaucoma (n = 100 in 2000, n = 41 in 2011) showed a significant decrease in their HRQoL. Glaucoma was also associated with worsened overall mental health based on BDI and GHQ-12 results. Visual impairment associated with glaucoma is the major determinant of the reduced HRQoL and mental health. Neither glaucoma medication nor glaucoma surgery affected these parameters. The impact of glaucoma on HRQoL and mental health diminished between 2000 and 2011 in a crosssectional setting. The newly diagnosed glaucoma during the 11-year follow-up had a minimal effect on them. Conclusion: Glaucoma patients show reduced HRQoL and mental health, which is associated with vision loss regardless of the awareness or treatment of the disease. However, this effect seems to be diminishing over time, and the newly diagnosed glaucoma did not show a significant effect on either HRQoL or mental health.

Changes in incidence and severity of visual impairment due to glaucoma during 40 years – a register‐based study in Finland

“…The main subtype of glaucoma causing VI in Finland is primary openangle glaucoma, followed by exfoliative glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma. This is in good accordance with the proportions of glaucoma subtypes in Finland (Parkkari et al 2019;Purola et al 2021a). As in many other populations of European ancestry (Tham et al 2014), the prevalence of angleclosure glaucoma and VI due to it is low in Finland (Ojamo 2021).…”

“…In the Finnish register data, the prevalence and incidence of glaucoma are higher among females (Purola et al 2021a;Social Insurance Institution of Finland 2021). This is contradictory to many epidemiological findings (Heilj et al 2013;Flaxman et al 2017).…”

Comparison of three health-related quality of life instruments in relation to visual acuity: EQ-5D, 15D, and EUROHIS-QOL8

“…Taipale et al reported that distance VA showed linear trend with both EQ-5D and 15D [7]. We reported that visual impairment had stronger impact on EQ-5D and 15D than the awareness of vision-threatening eye diseases [18,40]. In the current study, we have observed a similar trend using EUROHIS-QOL8.…”

Health-related quality of life among adult patients with visual impairments in Yazd, Iran

“…Consistent with the results of the present study, in the study of Purola et al . (2022)[ 43 ] and Vu et al .,[ 44 ] patients reported the most problems in mobility dimensions and usual activities. Adigun also showed in his study that mobility problems were reported in 42.9% of patients.…”