Determinants of Glaucoma Awareness in Greek Patients

Abstract

Purpose: : To evaluate glaucoma awareness in a sample of Greek primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients and assess the impact of potential determinants.

Methods: : Patients with no other ophthalmic condition than POAG and volunteers with no ophthalmic disease were recruited in a consequtive-if-eligible fashion. A customized instrument was developed based on the original NEI Eye-Q questionnaire. The new questionnaire included questions about the participants’ perception of the nature of the disease and the possibility of actually being affected. A multivariate logistic regression analysis with a forward stepwise selection procedure was performed to examine the independent effects of age, sex, socioeconomic status, educational level, residency and family history of glaucoma on disease awareness. A chi-square test was performed to test for the association of awareness scores with demographics and family history in the control and patient groups. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05.

Results: : 314 healthy volunteers (mean age: 65.5, range:19-91 years) and 175 primary open angle glaucoma patients (mean age: 43.3, range:21-92 years) were included. Compared to healthy volunteers, patients scored significantly higher in 3 of 9 questionnaire items. There were no significantly different scores in the rest of the items. Age and socioeconomic status were not associated with significantly higher scores in any groups. Family history was associated with significantly higher score in 5 items for both groups. Higher educational level was associated with significantly higher score in one item for the patient and in 7 of 11 for the control group. Urban residency and female sex were each associated with significantly higher scores in 2 items for the control group only. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only the presence of an affected relative was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of being unaware of glaucoma (Adjusted odds ratio: 0.486, 95% CI: 0.277-0.854).

Conclusions: : Among other determinants, family history of glaucoma was most significantly associated with heightened disease awareness both in patients and healthy participants.

Keywords: quality of life