Abstract
Purpose :
Nearly 200 million people have age-related macular degeneration (AMD), yet effective screening methods to identify these individuals in the general population are quite limited. Although signs of AMD can readily be identified by means of a comprehensive eye examination or confirmed by special testing, many individuals with AMD remain undiagnosed, representing a significant unmet public health need. The goal of this study is to develop a survey capable of identifying patients with AMD based upon visual symptoms.
Methods :
A pilot study was conducted in patients with and without AMD presenting at an eye clinic. Participants were recruited to complete the (DA) Survey instrument at the time of a comprehensive eye evaluation which included optical coherence tomography. Patients were staged according to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study classification system. The 10-item survey utilized asked questions related to DA and night vision using the Likert-type response format (severe, moderate, mild, or no difficulty). Linear regression and multivariate analysis were performed using SPSS® (Version 22.0, IBM Corp.).
Results :
A total of 31 patients with AMD and 51 controls were recruited for the pilot study. Cronbach’s α showed a high degree of internal consistency reliability (α = 0.92). Average DA Survey score in AMD was 3.2 ± 0.8 compared with 2.0 ± 0.9 among controls (P < 0.001). For every question, the average response score was significantly higher among patients with AMD compared with controls. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict AMD among 31 patients with AMD and 51 controls using age, sex, average visual acuity, and DA Survey score. Based on this model, association of AMD with age and DA Survey score was statistically significant (R2 = 0.442, P < 0.001), whereas it was not significant for sex or visual acuity.
Conclusions :
Night vision problems are common in patients with AMD., and symptom severity correlates with severity of the disease. Screening for DA symptoms may help identify subjects with AMD. Future work will seek to validate the survey in a larger population and determine the extent to which other diseases with and without diminished night vision impact symptom severity. Low-cost and easily administered screening tools such as our DA Survey may aid in identifying individuals in need of referral for evaluation and treatment for undiagnosed eye disease thereby preventing vision loss.
This is a 2021 ARVO Annual Meeting abstract.