At baseline, 99.4% of participants required help for near activities. Mean VF scores were analyzed according to baseline characteristics and clinical measures. The overall mean VF score was 64.4. Rural dwellers had a significantly lower mean VF scores than did urban dwellers (62.42 and 66.65, respectively,
P < 0.001), as did illiterate participants compared to literate participants (63.31 and 70.39, respectively,
P < 0.001). Only literacy remained significant in the multivariate analysis. Illiteracy was associated with lower VF scores with an adjusted coefficient of 4.67 (95% CI, −8.36 to −0.99;
P = 0.013). No association was found between the degree of near add required and VF (test for trend,
P = 0.418). At 6 months follow-up, 85.8% of participants (151/176; 95% CI, 80.0–90.6) no longer required help from others for near tasks, and the overall mean VF score increased to 91.5. The effect size was very high (2.90), and the paired
t-test showed a significant difference in mean scores between baseline and follow-up (
P < 0.001;
Table 5). Near spectacles had the most impact on reading small print and threading a needle, with effect sizes of 3.8 and 2.7, respectively.