title: Comparison on the vision-related quality of life between outpatients and general population with dry eye syndrome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the impact of dry eye syndrome (DES) on vision-related quality of life (VR-QoL) between outpatients and general populations.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional comparative study enrolled 154 participants, 77 outpatients and 77 general participants, all of whom met the diagnostic criteria of DES. Apart from the collection of sociodemographic and clinical data, the Chinese version of 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25) and Ocular Surface Disease Index Questionnaire (OSDI) were administered. Main outcome measures include the comparison on the OSDI score and VFQ-25 score between two groups, and their correlation with sociodemographic and clinical data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups were comparable concerning sociodemographic parameters except that the outpatients were better educated (χ(2) = 18.609, p < 0.001). The ophthalmic data related with DES did not have statistically significant differences between two groups except that the proportion of subjects with positive corneal fluorescein staining (CFS) was higher in outpatients (χ(2) = 21.296, p < 0.001). The outpatients reported significantly higher OSDI scores and lower VFQ-25 scores. The VFQ-25 composite score had negative correlation with the OSDI score of all participants or that of outpatients solely (ρ = -0.247 and -0.397, p = 0.030 and 0.000, respectively). Among outpatients, the value of Schirmer test (ST), tear film breakup time (TBUT) and CFS in the eyes with worse DES had significant correlations with the OSDI overall scores, while TBUT and CFS of both eyes correlated with the VFQ-25 composite score.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DES exerts more adverse impact on VR-QoL in outpatients than general patients. The impairment of VR-QoL has a significant correlation with the severity of DES.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University, Xuhui District, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ocular Surface Disease, Shanghai Eye Disease Prevention & Treatment Center, Jing'an District, Shanghai, ChinaDepartment of Ophthalmology, Jing'an District Center Hospital, Jing'an District, Shanghai, ChinaHealth Communication Institute, Fudan University, Xuhui, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Qihua
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Le
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Meiyan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Liangcheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Jianjiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Jiaxu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Lan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D019793:Fluorescein; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D015590:Fluorophotometry; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D013194:Staining and Labeling / Q000379:methods; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013666:Tears / Q000502:physiology; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D019793:Fluorescein
keywords: 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire; Ocular Surface Disease Index Questionnaire; dry eye syndrome; visual quality of life