The Michigan Vision-Related Anxiety Questionnaire: A Psychosocial Outcomes Measure for Inherited Retinal...

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Psychiatry
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs) can cause significant vision-related anxiety.
• Existing measures may not adequately capture the nuances of anxiety in IRD patients.
• A validated patient-reported outcome measure is needed for screening and monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct and validate a patient-reported outcome measure for vision-related anxiety in IRD patients.
• To develop a tool for screening and monitoring psychosocial impact in IRD.
• To assess the psychometric properties of a novel anxiety questionnaire.

Main Methods:

• Item-response theory and graded response modeling were used for quantitative validation.
• 128 IRD patients completed a 166-item questionnaire, with a subset of 26 anxiety-related items analyzed.
• Item reduction was based on fit, information, and discriminability; test-retest reliability was assessed.

Main Results:

• A 14-item questionnaire with two domains (rod and cone function anxiety) was finalized.
• The questionnaire demonstrated convergent validity with measures of depression and anxiety.
• High reliability (0.81-0.83) and minimal test-retest variability (ρ=0.81-0.83) were observed.

Conclusions:

• The Michigan Vision-Related Anxiety Questionnaire is a psychometrically validated tool for IRD patients.
• This 14-item measure can be used for psychosocial screening and monitoring.
• The questionnaire is suitable for assessing treatment effects in clinical trials for IRD therapies.