title: Evaluation of Quality of Life in Japanese Glaucoma Patients and its Relationship With Visual Function.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We assessed vision-related quality of life (VR-QOL) in glaucoma patients and examined the relationship between VR-QOL and indices of visual function and subjective symptoms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four hundred seventy-two glaucoma patients completed a questionnaire concerning VR-QOL and subjective symptoms of glaucoma. VR-QOL was based on 5 subscales selected from the National Eye Institute 25-item Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI VFQ-25), whereas subjective symptoms were examined using original questions that we prepared. The following were selected as visual function indices: corrected visual acuity measured with a distance visual acuity chart, mean deviation scores measured with a static perimeter, and 4 threshold levels in the innermost center of a visual field (4 pericentral test points). Disease staging was conducted according to the Aulhorn classification system. Correlations of visual function with VR-QOL were evaluated using the Spearman test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Correlations were observed in almost all subscales of the NEI VFQ-25, including correlations with corrected vision, disease stage, mean deviation score, and minimum threshold values of the 4-point pericentral test on the temporal side (P<0.0001). Visual function indices affecting driving differed between daytime and night driving (P<0.0001). NEI VFQ-25 subscales were correlated with subjective symptoms felt by the patients while driving (P<0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Minimum threshold values of the 4 pericentral test points on the temporal side are useful for the assessment of VR-QOL. Minimum threshold values of the 4 pericentral test points on the temporal side are useful for assessing visual field abnormalities that are associated with decreased VR-QOL.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Ophthalmology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Katsushika Medical Center, Katsushika-ku ‡Division of Molecular Epidemiology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Minato-ku, Tokyo †Department of Ophthalmology, National Hospital Organization Osaka National Hospital, Osaka §Fukushima Eye Clinic, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Gen-ichiro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yasumasa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Otori
authors.forename: Mitsuyoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Urashima
authors.forename: Yasuaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kuwayama
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D044466:Asian People / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014794:Visual Fields / Q000502:physiology