Seeing through the patient's Eyes: Exploring quality of life in glaucoma patients

Glaucoma remains the predominant cause of irreversible blindness and has a profound multidimensional impact on every patient's life. Assessment of vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) is paramount for comprehensive glaucoma management. To evaluate VR-QOL among patients with glaucoma at a secondary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates. This cross-sectional study was undertaken in the ophthalmology outpatient clinic between July 2021 and February 2022. Individuals were recruited using stratified random sampling, and controls were frequency-matched by age and gender. VR-QOL was measured using the validated NEI-VFQ-25 questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U-tests, Spearman correlation, and to analyze predictors associated with VR-QOL, multiple linear regression were used. The study was completed by 130 individuals with glaucoma and 130 control subjects. The average composite NEI-VFQ-25 score for glaucoma patients was lower than control groups. VR-QOL was strongly related to disease severity, age, number of medications, and occupation status (P < 0.05). Significant difference was observed across multiple functional domains in patient with glaucoma compared to controls (P < 0.05). Glaucoma substantially affects VR-QOL, particularly in advanced stages of the disease. Elderly, duration of the illness, and long-term treatment greatly influence diminishing patient well-being. These findings underscore the need for ongoing monitoring, patient-centered engagement, and most importantly, the early detection of glaucoma to preserve vision.