Quality of life in glaucoma and its relationship with visual function

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Vision Science
• Psychophysics

Background:

• Glaucoma significantly impacts patients' vision-related quality of life.
• Objective measures of visual function do not always correlate with patient-reported disability.
• A validated tool is needed to assess self-reported visual disability in glaucoma patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a questionnaire to measure self-reported visual disability in glaucoma patients.
• To identify activities strongly associated with visual field loss.
• To correlate objective visual function measures with patients' perceived quality of life.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was developed and administered to 47 glaucoma patients with varying visual field loss and 19 controls.
• Patients underwent comprehensive clinical examinations, including visual acuity, visual fields, and psychophysical tests.
• The Glaucoma Quality of Life - 15 (GQL-15) scale was developed and its validity and reliability were assessed.

Main Results:

• The GQL-15 scale demonstrated high validity (r = -0.6 with mean deviation) and reliability (Cronbach alpha = 0.95).
• Glaucoma patients reported significantly lower quality of life compared to controls.
• The GQL-15 scores correlated significantly with contrast sensitivity, glare disability, visual field tests, dark adaptation, and stereopsis.

Conclusions:

• The GQL-15 is a valid and reliable tool for assessing glaucoma-related visual disability.
• Perceived visual disability, particularly in low light and with glare, is linked to visual field severity.
• The questionnaire captures real-world difficulties that are reflected in psychophysical test performance.