Abstract
Aims
To determine whether the Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (VFQ) is a more accurate instrument for assessing vision related quality of life (VRQOL) than visual acuity (VA) in patients with diabetic retinopathy. To compare VRQOL between patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR).
Methods
We administered the VFQ and Vision Preference Value Scale (VPVS) to 104 patients. With VPVS as the gold standard in our study, we used Pearson's correlation and multiple linear regression analysis to assess whether VFQ is a more accurate measure of VRQOL than VA. Spearman correlation coefficients were used to assess which VFQ subscales correlated strongly with VPVS. Patients with NPDR and PDR were compared using VFQ.
Results
The Pearson's correlation coefficient between VPVS and VFQ was 0.49 (P<0.01) and between VPVS and VA was 0.33 (P<0.01). In multivariable linear models, VFQ explained a higher proportion of the variance in VPVS than VA. The VFQ subscales with the strongest Spearman coefficients to VPVS scores were role differences, near activities, distance activities, mental function and dependence. In these subscales, patients with PDR vsNPDR suffered a 25–30 point loss (100-point scale).
Conclusions
VFQ is a superior measure of VRQOL for patients with diabetic retinopathy because it better captures mental and emotional aspects of the disease as well as visual function. Subjects with PDR vsNPDR suffer significant loss of VRQOL.
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Acknowledgements
This study was supported by funding from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. This study was carried out with the approval from the University of Chicago School of Medicine Institutional Review Board (IRB), and therefore has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Oral informed consent was obtained from all subjects before enrollment in the study, and the study is in accordance with HIPAA regulations. This study was completed with statistical consultation from Yang Sheny (University of Chicago).
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Gabrielian, A., Hariprasad, S., Jager, R. et al. The utility of visual function questionnaire in the assessment of the impact of diabetic retinopathy on vision-related quality of life. Eye 24, 29–35 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2009.56
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/eye.2009.56
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