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Study shows strong link between visual symptoms and quality of life
Am J Ophthalmol. 2009;148(5):804-808.
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Visual symptoms correlated more closely with health-related quality-of-life than the presence of specific eye diseases, according to a large study.
"This study extends the findings of prior research to show that both trouble seeing and blurred vision have independent, measurable associations with [health-related quality-of-life], while the presence of specific eye diseases may not," the study authors said.
The study included 5,021 patients who completed the short-form-36 (SF-36) version 1 quality-of-life survey. All survey participants were patients undergoing care provided by a physician group practice association.
The authors analyzed decrements in self-reported physical and mental health associated with eye diseases and their symptoms, such as difficulty seeing and blurred vision.
Of patients who completed the survey, 9% had cataracts, 2% had age-related macular degeneration, 2% had glaucoma, 8% had blurred vision and 13% had difficulty seeing.
"Trouble seeing and blurred vision both had statistically unique associations with worse scores on the SF-36 mental health summary score," the authors said. "Only trouble seeing had a significant association with the SF-36 physical health summary score. While these ocular symptoms were significantly associated with SF-36 scores, having an eye disease (cataracts, glaucoma and macular degeneration) was not, after adjusting for other variables in the model."
This study clearly confirms what we have noted in numerous prior publications: that quality-of-life of the visually impaired is related most directly to level of vision rather than ocular diagnosis or specific disease process. These are data that are confirmed in nature and are always very useful.
– Melissa M. Brown, MD, MN, MBA
Center
for Value-Based Medicine, Flourtown, Pa.