Abstract
To evaluate the impact of visual acuity, visual field damage, and other factors on the quality of life in Brazilian patients with glaucoma. This cross-sectional prospective study involved 49 patients with glaucoma enrolled based on the presence of reproducible standard automated perimetry defects in at least one eye at the time of evaluation. A detailed ophthalmologic examination was performed on each patient. All patients had reproducible standard automated perimetry and completed an NEI VFQ-25 questionnaire. The associations of the quality of life scores to the best-corrected visual acuity and the visual field loss of the better and worse eyes were investigated. The mean quality of life score of the patients was 58.8 ± 18.7 units. The highest and lowest mean values (85.0 ± 24.2 and 37.5 ± 36.5 units) were observed in the "Social Functioning Subscale" and "Driving Subscale," respectively. Patients with advanced glaucoma (mean deviation <-12 dB) in the worse eye had significantly lower quality of life scores (p=0.007). There was a significant correlation between the quality of life scores and the visual acuity of the better and worse eyes (r2=13%, p=0.010 and r2=32%, p<0.001, respectively). There was also a significant correlation between the quality of life scores and standard automated perimetry mean deviation of the better and worse eyes (r2=13%, p=0.023 and r2=47%, p<0.001, respectively). In a multivariate model containing so-cioeconomic and comorbidity indices, quality of life remained significantly related to the standard automated perimetry mean deviation of the better and worse eyes (r2=23%, p=0.29 and r2=49%, p<0.001, respectively) as well as to the visual acuity of the better and worse eyes (r2=18%, p=0.017 and r2=40%, p<0.001, respectively). The standard automated perimetry mean deviation and the visual acuity of the better and worse eyes were associated with lower quality of life in Brazilian patients with glaucoma. Quality of life was mostly highly associated with the standard automated perimetry mean deviation of the worse eye.
Highlights
Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of irreversible vision loss[1]
Blindness is the most serious consequence of glaucoma, even mild disease can significantly affect quality of life (QoL), with functional impairment associated with a higher risk of depression[2], falls[3], motor vehicle collisions[4], and reduced ability to carry out self-care activities[5]
We demonstrated that the visual acuity (VA) and standard automated perimetry (SAP) mean deviation (MD) of the worse eye are significantly associated with lower NEI VFQ 25 scores
Summary
Glaucoma is one of the most common causes of irreversible vision loss[1]. It has been estimated that by 2020, 80 million individuals worldwide will have glaucoma and that 11 million will become bilaterally blind[1]. Patients with advanced glaucoma (mean deviation
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