Abstract
Purpose:
Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) affects central vision while primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) affects peripheral vision. These two age-related diseases can occur concurrently and have a devastating impact on vision. The purpose of this study was to assess quality of life in patients with concurrent AMD and POAG (AMD/POAG) compared to patients with AMD-alone and POAG-alone.
Methods:
Sixty-nine patients matched for age, and central and peripheral visual field severity were enrolled. Visual field assessment was performed using standard automated perimetry with the Swedish Interactive Thresholding Algorithm and the 24-2 and 10-2 programs on the Humphrey Field Analyzer. Of the 69 patients enrolled, 24 had AMD-alone, 31 had POAG-alone and 14 had AMD/POAG. Quality of life was assessed using the self-administered Visual Functioning Questionnaire (VFQ-25 + Appendix of optional additional questions). The Likert scale scores for each question were recoded, according to the recommended standard, on a scale ranging from 0 to 100, with 100 being the best possible score and 0 being the worst possible score. These recoded scores were then averaged into the 12 VFQ subscales. Results were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Dunnett’s method for multiple comparisons. Alpha was set at 0.05.
Results:
Significant differences were observed on six individual questions. Patients with AMD/POAG reported having more difficulty noticing objects to the side while walking compared to patients with POAG (p=0.03). Compared to patients with AMD-alone and with OAG-alone, patients with AMD/POAG reported having more difficulty driving at night (p=0.048), driving in bad weather (p=0.01), having to rely too much on what others tell them (p=0.04), having more difficulty reading small print (p=0.001), and having more help from others (p=0.04). Significant differences were observed on the driving and peripheral vision subscales. Patients with AMD/POAG reported having more difficulty driving compared to patients with AMD-alone and to patients with POAG-alone (p=0.01). Patients with AMD/POAG also reported having more difficulty with their peripheral vision compared to patients with AMD-alone (p=0.03).
Conclusions:
The results of this study suggest that quality of life in patients affected concurrently by macular degeneration and glaucoma may be worse than that of patients affected by either disease alone.
Keywords: 669 quality of life