Quality of Life in People with Diabetic Retinopathy: Indian Study.

Abstract

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a well-known consequence of long standing and poorly controlled Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Several studies have demonstrated both a qualitative and quantitative reduction in health related quality of life in persons with DR. But no such study has been done in the Indian population. To assess health related and vision related quality of life in people with DR. The present study included two groups of patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Cases included 97 patients with DR. The control group (n=26) consisted of diabetic cases with no clinically detectable DR changes. After taking informed consent, health and vision related quality of life was assessed using National Eye Institute 25-Item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). Demographic information, social history and diabetic history were also obtained from all patients. DR was graded using the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) classification. Of the 97 cases with DR, 42.3% were females. Of the 26 controls, 53.8% were females. The mean±SD age in years of the cases was 55.09±9.56 and controls were 54.12±13.01. The mean±SD of DM in years for the cases was 10.98±5.62 and for controls was 6.69±2.29. There were statistically significant (p<0.001) lower VFQ-25 composite and sub scale scores of the cases when compared with controls. As the grade of DR increased, VFQ-25 sub-scale scores decreased and this was statistically significant for composite and all sub scales (p<0.005) except ocular pain. Mann-Whitney test Z-value was highest in general health, general vision, composite score and mental health. Quality of life was significantly lower in diabetics with DR when compared with those without DR with maximum effect seen on general health, general vision and mental health. Quality of life decreased as the duration of retinopathy and severity of retinopathy increased.