Physical injuries and quality of life in blind war survivors: a cross-sectional study

Health-related quality of life measurements are necessary tools for current situation assessment of all populations. They are absolutely beneficial for evaluation of rehabilitation services which are known as major clinical sources for improving quality of life in physically impaired patients.The design and implementation of this study involved determination of the relationship between war-related physical impairments and quality of life in blind war survivors.

This was a cross-sectional study of a representative population of war victims blind in both eyes who attended a day conference. SF 36 was used for quality of life assessment and demographic data was gathered by a validated questionnaire. An expert internist visited and evaluated subjects' physical health.

Participants had a mean age of 43.20±8.34 years. There were 96.5% males and 3.5% females with a mean SF-36 score of 59.20±22.80. The most prevalent physical injury was shrapnel hit in the face (43.6%) and the mean time since onset of injury was 21.84±4.23 years. Quality of life had a significant relation to physical impairments (P=0.006) and the number of injuries had a significant effect on quality of life (P=0.003, f=3.788).

Physical impairments related to war injuries significantly influenced quality of life in the study group. Participants with more impairments reported lower quality of life. Considering the physical problems that accumulate with increasing age, therefore the process of ageing would cause enhanced burden to the future of blind war survivors even though, according to the physical component scale, they have a better quality of life than lower limb amputee war survivors. Assistive devices with proper instruction on their use can help this population improve their abilities and improve their quality of life.