title: Validation of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) in age-related macular degeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patient-reported measures of visual function are increasingly incorporated into clinical trials of new treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Limited information is available regarding the associations between distance visual acuity (VA), reading speed, or contrast sensitivity and the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) subscales judged relevant to these measures. This study's objective was to evaluate such associations along with questions on restricted activity days.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with clinical diagnoses of neovascular AMD. Patient-reported outcome measures included the NEI VFQ-25 and restricted activity days. Clinical assessments included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), reading speed, and contrast sensitivity. The better-seeing eye was defined based on the BCVA of each patient. Psychometric properties of the NEI VFQ-25 were examined; analyses a priori focused on the Near Activities, Distance Activities, and Vision-Specific Dependency subscales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The final study group included 92 participants (mean age, 78 years). Cronbach's α for the subscales ranged from 0.67 to 0.92. The NEI VFQ-25 overall composite, Near Activities, Distance Activities, and Vision-Specific Dependency scores were correlated with BCVA (r = -0.48 to -0.54, all P < 0.0001), reading speed (r = 0.43 to 0.56, all P < 0.0001), and contrast sensitivity (r = -0.39 to -0.46, all P < 0.001) of the better-seeing eye and with restricted activity days (r = -0.52 to -0.55, all P < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides additional evidence supporting the validity of the NEI VFQ-25 in neovascular AMD patients by demonstrating correlations with a spectrum of vision measurements and a daily function measure.
authors.affiliation: Retina Division, Wilmer Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Orr
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Rentz
authors.forename: Mary Kay
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Margolis
authors.forename: Dennis A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Revicki
authors.forename: Chantal M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Dolan
authors.forename: Shoshana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colman
authors.forename: Jennifer T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Fine
authors.forename: Neil M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Bressler
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005451:Fluorescein Angiography; D006801:Humans; D008268:Macular Degeneration / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D054554:National Eye Institute (U.S.); D009887:Ophthalmoscopy; D011932:Reading; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*