Abstract
Purpose :
A decrease in reading rate has been observed with age and with reduced visual acuity. The majority of AMD patients express difficulty with reading. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a decrease in reading rate as the severity of AMD increases in patients with normal acuity.
Methods :
Forty-four individuals took part in this study (23 AMD (age 76.52 ± 1.95) and 21 normal controls (age 73.48 ± 1.29), p = 0.19). All subjects had a complete eye exam (VA, fields, OCT, fundus photos). The logMAR visual acuities for the test eye were not significantly different between the groups (AMD = 0.04 ± 0.02, Control = 0.02 ± 0.02, p = 0.46). Severity of AMD was graded using the simplified AREDS scale (average = 2.8 ± 0.21) and normal controls did not have drusen within two disc diameters of the fovea. The Wilkins Rate of Reading Test was used to determine reading rate under monocular and binocular conditions. The words were equivalent to a 20/50 Snellen letter at 60 cm. The subjects wore their optimal correction for the reading distance.
Results :
Reading rates under binocular conditions (AMD = 130.4 ± 6.3 wpm, Control = 145.3 ± 5.7 wpm) were significantly lower (p = 0.05) for all AMD patients compared to normal controls. Reading rates of AMD patients in grades 3 and 4 combined were significantly different (p = 0.03) from normal controls whereas those of AMD patients in grades 1 and 2 combined were not significantly different from normal controls (p = 0.47). Under monocular conditions, reading rates (AMD = 125.2 ± 6.9 wpm, Control = 142.8 ± 7.2 wpm) were marginally non-significant (p = 0.08) for all AMD patients compared to normal controls. Reading rates of AMD patients in grades 3 and 4 combined were significantly different (p = 0.05) from normal controls whereas those of AMD patients in grades 1 and 2 combined were not significantly different (p = 0.47) from normal controls.
Conclusions :
Reading rates under binocular and monocular viewing conditions decrease with increased severity of AMD. The largest decrease in reading rate was in intermediate AMD patients under monocular viewing.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.