Abstract
Purpose :
Driving depends on a complex coordination of visual function and eye movement control. Neuro-ophthalmic diseases due to stroke, tumor, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson’s disease are common causes of vision loss or eye movement abnormality. We performed a retrospective study using visual disability questionnaires and examined the impact of neuro-ophthalmic diseases on driving and psychosocial experience.
Methods :
We perform a retrospective study of 440 subjects (314 patients with neuro-ophthalmic diseases and 126 controls) aged 15-90. We used the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire, which contained 5 questions regarding driving (questions 15, 15a, 15b, 16, and 16a) and 11 questions regarding psychosocial well-being. Data analysis was performed using Prism (GraphPad).
Results :
Of the 314 patients with neuro-ophthalmic conditions, 31% stopped driving or had great difficulty driving at night or in challenging conditions. In the group who stopped driving or only driving in certain conditions, 32% had vision loss, 30% had diplopia or eye movement disorder, and 30% had Parkinson’s disease. Patients who stopped due to vision loss had homonymous hemianopia or bilateral severe vision loss, although there was no correlation between best corrected visual acuity and driving status. Nondrivers had worse mean mental health scores compared with controls (ctrls: 81 ± 1, nondrivers: 48 ± 4). Driving status correlated with psychosocial well-being (social function: r = 0.4982, mental health: r = 0.4757, role difficulties: r = 0.4786, dependency: r = 0.5664) but not general health or ocular pain.
Conclusions :
In our study of 314 patients with neuro-ophthalmic conditions, 31% stopped driving or had difficulty driving in challenging conditions, most commonly due to homonymous hemianopia, severe bilateral vision loss, binocular diplopia, nystagmus, and Parkinson’s disease. Non-driving status was associated with poor psycho-social well-being but not worse self-perceived general health.
This is a 2020 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.