title: Visual function and subjective quality of life compared in subjects with acquired macular disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the objective measures of visual function that are most relevant to subjective quality of vision and perceived reading ability in patients with acquired macular disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight patients with macular disease underwent a comprehensive assessment of visual function. The patients also completed a vision-related quality-of-life questionnaire that included a section of general questions about perceived visual performance and a section with specific questions on reading.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results of all tests of vision correlated highly with reported vision-related quality-of-life impairment. Low-contrast tests explained most of the variance in self-reported problems with reading. Text-reading speed correlated highly with overall concern about vision.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reading performance is strongly associated with vision-related quality of life. High-contrast distance acuity is not the only relevant measure of visual function in relation to the perceived visual performance of a patient with macular disease. The results suggest the importance of print contrast, even over print size, in reading performance in patients with acquired macular disease.
authors.affiliation: Vision Sciences Research Institute, Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom. hazelca@aston.ac.uk
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Hazel
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Petre
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Armstrong
authors.forename: M T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Benson
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Frost
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011327:Printing; D011788:Quality of Life; D011932:Reading; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014787:Vision Tests; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*