ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH GLAUCOMA

Subashini Kaliaperumal, Praveen Kumar K. V.* and Aarthi Rao

ABSTRACT

Aim: To evaluate the reliability of the Glaucoma Quality of Life (GQL-15) questionnaire in the Indian population, determine any differences in perceptions of the quality of life(QoL) between glaucoma patients and non glaucomatous control group and evaluate factors affecting the quality of life in glaucoma. Materials and methods: The study population comprised 2 groups. The glaucoma group comprised 50 glaucomatousand the control group, 50 non glaucomatous patients. Glaucoma group was stratified by visual field loss using the Nelson staging systeminto mild, moderateand severe groups. TheQOL-15 questionnaire was administered addressing 4 factors of visual disability: central and near vision; peripheral vision; dark adaptation and glare; and outdoor mobility. Responses for each factor were coded on a scale of 0 to 5, 0 indicating abstinence from activity to 5 representing severe difficulty. Statistical analysis: Student t test and Χ2 test were used for statistical analysis. Correlation between QoL scores and age, intraocular pressure, and visual fields was studied using Pearson‟s correlation. Results: A total of 100 subjects participated in the study. The average age of patients in the glaucoma group was 53.4 +17.1 years and in control group was 40.3 + 12.7 years. The mean value of GQL 15 scores in the glaucoma group was 37.96±14.20 and 15.6±1.80 in the control group (p <0.001). In glaucoma group, the average overall quality of life score in males was 36.5 ± 14.6 andin females was39.6 ±13.9. In control group, the average quality of life score was similar among males and females (16.2 ±3 vs 15.3±0.87). (p> 0.05).The average quality of life scores increased with worsening filed changes(P<0.05). The analysis of the overall QoL score with age and IOP showed no correlation (r=.13, P>0.05), Conclusion: GQL-15 is an effective tool to measurequality of life in glaucoma. Quality of life in glaucoma patients is affected and deterioratedwith the severity of the visual field loss. Age, gender and IOP did not affect the quality of life in glaucoma.

Keywords: Quality of life, GQL-15, visual disability in glaucoma, visual field loss.