Vision-specific Quality of Life in Greek Glaucoma Patients

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the vision-specific quality-of-life (VS-QoL) of Greek glaucoma patients, and the impact of potential influencing factors. This was a 2-center, cross-sectional study. One hundred twenty-one patients were recruited from the outpatient glaucoma service and 100 successfully responded to the self-administered, Greek version of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire 25. The results were quantified in terms of scores (0-100) and correlations with possible modifiers were investigated. The effects of sex, income, education, and comorbidities on VS-QoL scores were examined by analysis of variance. Our sample consisted of 49 men and 51 women with a mean age of 64.1 years, ranging from 18 to 89 years. The QoL score (mean+/-SD) was 81.7+/-14.7, the mean general health subscale score was 57.3+/-21.0 and the mean general vision subscale score was 72.7+/-16.3. Men generally presented higher VS-QoL scores (P=0.042). Age had a negative impact on the "General health" (rho=-0.325, P=0.001) and "General vision" (rho=-0.265, P=0.008) subscales. Higher educational background contributed to higher scores in General health, "General vision," and "Central vision" while urban residence correlated with "Distant activities" and "Social functioning". Cup-to-disc ratio, visual acuity and visual field indices like the Advanced Glaucoma Intervention Study, the Hodapp-Anderson-Parrish, and the Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study scores, and pattern standard deviation and mean deviation all correlated with National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire scores (r values ranging from -0.240 to 0.757). In this first study in a Greek native population, both the structural measure of cup-to-disc ratio and a multitude of functional scores correlated with VS-QoL scores in glaucoma patients.