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Visual impairment and vision‐related quality of life in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial after 20 years of follow‐up
Author(s) -
Peters Dorothea,
Heijl Anders,
Brenner Lena,
Bengtsson Boel
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/aos.12839
Subject(s) - medicine , visual acuity , quality of life (healthcare) , glaucoma , visual field , ophthalmology , univariate analysis , visual impairment , logistic regression , multivariate analysis , optometry , nursing , psychiatry
Purpose To determine the association between vision‐related quality of life ( VRQOL ) and levels of visual function loss in the Early Manifest Glaucoma Trial ( EMGT ). Methods Two hundred and fifty‐five patients were included in the EMGT between 1993 and 1997 and followed regularly by ophthalmic examinations. A Swedish translation of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25 ( NEI VFQ ‐25) was self‐administered at several follow‐up visits until 2014. We analysed the association between Rasch‐calibrated NEI VFQ ‐25 scores and visual function in the best eye at the final follow‐up visit. Results Ninety‐one per cent (233/255) of all participants completed the NEI VFQ ‐25 at least once. In univariate logistic regression analysis, NEI VFQ ‐25 scores were modestly associated with visual acuity ( VA ) ( r 2 = 0.330, p < 0.001), visual field index ( VFI ) ( r 2 = 0.200, p < 0.001) and perimetric mean deviation ( MD ) ( r 2 = 0.193, p < 0.001). In multivariate analysis, VA and VFI together accounted for approximately 40% ( r 2 = 0.380) of the NEI VFQ ‐25 scores. NEI VFQ ‐25 scores were significantly higher for patients with no visual impairment (mean 73 ± 22) than for visually impaired patients (mean 31 ± 15, p < 0.001). VFI worse than 50% or MD worse than −18 dB was significantly associated with low VRQOL scores (p < 0.001). Conclusions Our results support the widespread, albeit arbitrary, use of a better‐eye visual field of <50% as an important threshold for a significant reduction in VRQOL .