Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose: To compare the impact of degenerative versus non-degenerative eye diseases on domains of participation for adults with impaired vision. Methods: A quality of life questionnaire, the Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) was administered to adults with vision impairment (VA<6/12). Participants were grouped according to whether their eye disease was likely to lead to further vision loss or not. Visual acuity was measured and categorised as mild (<6/12-6/18), moderate (<6/18-6/60) or severe (<6/60). Multivariate analysis investigated the effects of variables on restriction to participation. Results: Of the 201 participants, 37% were male and 166 (83%) had degenerative eye diseases, mainly age-related macular degeneration. There was no significant difference between the group's socio-demographic characteristics but the 'degenerative' group was significantly older and had shorter duration of vision loss. Adjusting for age, duration and visual acuity, degenerative eye disease was significantly related to higher scores on the IVI in all domains except mobility. The models explained between 9-14% of the variation in scores with VA explaining 6-9% and degenerative eye disease 2-4%. Conclusion: Participants with degenerative eye diseases experienced greater restriction to participation than those with non-degenerative eye disease. Vision-related characteristics are related to, but explain only a small proportion of, the variation in restriction to participation for people with impaired vision.
Keywords: 536 quality of life • 459 low vision • 308 age-related macular degeneration