Abstract
Purpose :
To investigate if glaucoma visual field severity, and self-perceived visual disabilities such as glare and difficulty with dark adaptation are associated with driving cessation or driving difficulties in a cross-sectional survey.
Methods :
Individuals with glaucoma, age 50+, and with visual acuity in the better eye ≥20/50 were enrolled. Glaucoma severity was defined by the visual field mean deviation (MD) in the better eye and was classified into 2 groups: mild (MD<6dB), and moderate/severe (MD≥6dB). We reported on responses from the GQL-15 glare and dark adaptation subscale regarding self-perceived visual disabilities.
Driving cessation was defined as cessation of driving due to vision. Driving difficulty was defined as either having moderate/extreme driving difficulty, or not driving at night or during poor driving conditions. Individuals who had never driven (n=10) or who had stopped driving due to non-vision related issues (n=8) were excluded. Associations were assessed utilizing prevalence ratios (PR).
Results :
A total of 99 participants (57% female) were included. A higher proportion of patients with moderate/severe glaucoma field loss, when compared to mild field loss, quit driving (33% vs. 8%, p=0.002), experienced glare (27% vs. 6%, p=0.012), and experienced difficulty with dark adaptation (31% vs. 10%, p=0.011). Moderate/severe glaucoma field loss (PR=2.26, p=0.115), presence of glare (PR=4.79, p=0.128), and difficulty with dark adaptation (PR=1.47, p=0.391) were all associated with an increased risk of driving cessation.
Individuals with difficulty with dark adaptation were about 4 times more likely than those without to have difficulty driving at night (adjusted PR=3.94, p<0.0001) or in poor driving conditions (adjusted PR=4.09, p=0.0002). Glare or moderate/severe glaucoma was neither associated with difficulty driving at night (adjusted PR=1.0547, p=0.883; adjusted PR=1.1301, p=0.530, respectively) nor in poor driving conditions (PR=4.17, p=0.050; adjusted PR=0.9014, p=0.574, respectively).
Conclusions :
Moderate/severe glaucoma field loss with self-perceived glare and difficulty with dark adaptation is associated with an increased risk of driving cessation. Difficulty with dark adaptation associated with difficulty driving at night or in poor driving conditions is more significant than moderate/severe glaucoma with the presence of self-reported glare.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Baltimore, MD, May 7-11, 2017.