The National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire in the Macular Telangiectasia (MacTel) Project
10/2008
Journal Article
Authors:
Clemons, T.E.;
Gillies, M.C.;
Chew, E.Y.;
Bird, A.C.;
Peto, T.;
Figueroa, M.;
Harrington, M.W.
Secondary:
Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci
Volume:
49
Pagination:
4340-4346
URL:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18586874
Keywords:
Adult; Aged; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Health Status; Male; Middle Aged; Ophthalmology; quality of life; Questionnaires; Retinal Diseases; Retinal Vessels; Sickness Impact Profile; Telangiectasis; visual acuity
Abstract:
PURPOSE: To describe vision-targeted health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), measured with the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25) in a cohort of patients with macular telangiectasia (MacTel) type 2 and to evaluate the relationship between visual acuity and NEI-VFQ-25 scores. METHODS: This was an analysis of cross-sectional baseline data from a longitudinal natural history study. Patients with MacTel type 2 were enrolled in the Natural History Study of The Macular Telangiectasia Project (The MacTel Project). NEI-VFQ-25 were completed at enrollment. Linear correlation and regression analyses were used to relate baseline NEI-VFQ-25 overall and subscale scores to visual acuity. RESULTS: Participants reported lower vision-related functioning measured by the NEI-VFQ-25 in most of the domains measured by the NEI VFQ compared with that of a normal reference group (P < 0.001 for all domains except color vision). Visual acuity was found to be associated with the NEI-VFQ-25 in many of the domains measuring degree of difficulty with common visual activities. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first cross-sectional cohort study to assess vision targeted HR-QOL in patients with MacTel type 2. Patients with MacTel type 2 reported markedly reduced visual functioning compared to reports of a normal reference group. These findings provide support to the use of the NEI-VFQ-25 in patients with MacTel type 2 to measure the effect of disease and potential therapies on vision-targeted HR-QOL.
