Abstract
Purpose:
The functional visual acuity (FVA) measurement system has been used to assess changes in continuous visual acuity over time. We assessed FVA in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in conjunction with vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) using the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (VFQ-25).
Methods:
The subjects were 60 eyes of 60 patients (74.1 ± 8.8 years old, mean ± standard deviation) who were diagnosed with AMD at Tsukuba University Hospital. The fellow eyes of 13 patients without any eye diseases served as the normal controls．Clinical data were collected including patient age, the duration of AMD, logarithm of minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity (logMAR BCVA), logMAR FVA, visual maintenance ratio (VMR) of FVA, and VFQ-25 scores.
Results:
The duration of AMD was 32.1 ± 36.3 months, logMAR BCVA was 0.45 ± 0.30, logMAR FVA was 0.71 ± 0.26, VMR was 0.93 ± 0.06, and VFQ-25 composite score was 68.2 ± 18.7. The VMR and logMAR BCVA were significantly reduced in the AMD patients than in the normal controls (p < 0.05). Patient age, logMAR BCVA, and logMAR FVA were significantly correlated with the VFQ-25 composite score (r = -0.28, -0.34, and -0.40, respectively, p < 0.05). A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that the VFQ-25 composite score was significantly correlated with logMAR FVA (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
The VFQ-25 composite score in patients with AMD was associated with FVA more than BCVA, indicating that FVA can be a good indicator to evaluate VR-QOL in patients with AMD.