Abstract
Purpose: :
Pre-existing questionnaires are highly detailed and can be too time-consuming for daily use. The aim of this study is to develop and to evaluate a quick vision-related questionnaire (QVQ) focusing on reading, daily activities and mobility in patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) for routine use in a busy eye clinic.
Methods: :
The impact of visual impairment was assessed in 187 AMD-patients without low-vision aids using a modified NEI-VFQ with only 10-items (QVQ) including reading (3 questions), daily activities (3 questions), mobility (3 questions) and vision-related dependency (1 question). Patients rated the extent of restricted participation in reading and activities affecting quality of life, response scores ranging from 1.0 (best rating) to 5.0 (worst). The interview lasted less than 10 minutes.
Results: :
The average best-corrected distance visual acuity (VA) was 0.18±0.15 with 22%, 45% and 33% of patients with mild (20/40-20/60), moderate (<20/60-20/200) and severe (<20/200) visual impairment. Mean score for reading, for daily activities and for mobility worsened significantly with decreasing of visual acuity, however, reading score was the most impaired measure. Patients with severe vision loss showed the highest scores (reading/daily/mobility: 4.7/4.0/4.0) comparing to those with moderate (3.8/2.9/2.7) and mild (2.4/1.9/1.8) visual impairment. In patients with VA less than 20/200, QVQ showed that 56% of patients always, 18% mostly and 18% frequently needed help for their daily life. Patients with VA of 20/200 or better required significantly less foreign help (5% of patients always, 5% mostly and 25% frequently) (p=0.0001). Patient’s self-reported dependency was significantly correlated with scores for reading, for daily activities as well as for mobility (p<0.0001).
Keywords: age-related macular degeneration • quality of life • reading