Using the Effects of Youngsters' Eyesight on Quality of Life Questionnaire to Measure Visual Outcomes in Children...

The Effects of Youngsters' Eyesight on Quality of Life (EYE-Q) is a novel measure of vision-related quality of life (QOL) and function in children. We aim to determine the validity of the EYE-Q in childhood uveitis.

We abstracted medical record data on arthritis and uveitis in a convenience sample of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and/or uveitis. In addition to the EYE-Q, parents and patients completed questionnaires on overall QOL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory [PedsQL]), and physical functioning (Childhood Health Assessment Questionnaire [C-HAQ]).

Among 57 children (8 JIA, 24 JIA and uveitis, 25 uveitis alone), 102 ocular examinations were performed within 1 month of completing questionnaires. Uveitis patients had bilateral disease (69%), anterior involvement (78%), synechiae (51%), and cataracts (49%). Children with vision loss in their better eye (visual acuity [VA] 20/50 or worse) had worse EYE-Q (P = 0.006) and PedsQL (P = 0.028) scores, but not C-HAQ scores. The EYE-Q moderately correlated with logMAR VA (rs  = -0.43), PedsQL (rs  = 0.43), and C-HAQ (rs  = -0.45), but was not correlated with anterior chamber cells or intraocular pressure. The PedsQL and C-HAQ did not correlate with VA or cells. There were strong correlations between the parent and child EYE-Q (rs  = 0.62). Cronbach's α for the child report was 0.91. The EYE-Q had strong test-retest reliability (rs  = 0.75).

The EYE-Q may be an important tool in the assessment of visual outcomes in childhood uveitis and an improvement over general measures in detecting changes in vision-related function.