Vision-related quality-of-life in Jamaican glaucoma patients at Kingston Public Hospital

Abstract

AIM: To determine the vision-related quality-of-life of glaucoma patients and the association between clinical and socioeconomic factors, and vision-related quality-of-life. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study. Consecutive patients with glaucoma were interviewed using a modified 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25) by a single interviewer. Statistical analysis was done to find associations between patient variables and vision-related quality-of-life scores. Confidentiality and anonymity were maintained. RESULTS: Ninety-six participants were recruited in the study. There were 44 males and the mean age for males and females was 65.7 and 69.5y, respectively. The mean composite score was 71.2 (with a maximum possible score of 100), with the highest mean score in the colour vision subscale (89.8) and the lowest mean score in the driving subscale (34.0). Worse visual acuity (P<0.001), longer duration of glaucoma (P<0.001) and higher number of glaucoma medications (P<0.001) were associated with a worse composite score. Female participants and those who lived in urban areas had significantly better scores than male participants (P=0.002) and those who lived in rural areas (P=0.017), respectively. CONCLUSION: The vision-related quality-of-life in Jamaican glaucoma patients is comparable to that of glaucoma patients in the Barbados Eye Study and other international studies using the VFQ-25 questionnaire. Worse quality-of-life scores are associated with poorer visual acuity, longer duration of glaucoma, more glaucoma medications, and sociodemographic factors such as male gender and rural residence.

Initial medication adherence in newly diagnosed glaucoma patients: three adherence measures

“…These findings were more relevant for younger patients, those initially treated with three or more antiglaucoma drugs, including fixed-dose combinations. Based on these results, more attention should be given to this group of glaucoma patients to ensure adequate access to healthcare and medications, adherence to treatment regimes, knowledge of their disease and social support [19] . Possible reasons might have been uncertainty about whether real glaucoma existed (due to the initial asymptomatic nature of this condition) and the appearance of adverse drug effects.…”

One-year outcomes of resveratrol supplement with aflibercept versus aflibercept monotherapy in wet age-related macular degeneration

“…Results vary between normal (score 0-7) and abnormal (score 11-21); a total subscale score >8 points denote considerable symptoms of anxiety or depression respectively [33][34] . Previous studies have already shown the significance of vision-related QoL, the direct association with visual function and the key role that these questionnaires play in the assessment of patients' mental state [35][36][37][38] . Statistical Analysis All variables were tested for normal distribution with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.…”