title: Vision-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Ocular Graft-versus-Host Disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the vision-related quality of life (QOL) in a cohort of patients with ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-four patients diagnosed with chronic ocular GVHD.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the vision-related QOL with the 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ-25). The symptoms of ocular GVHD were assessed using the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and Symptom Assessment in Dry Eye (SANDE) questionnaires.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed vision-related QOL with the NEI-VFQ-25 and compared the scores obtained from patients with ocular GVHD with those from a healthy population. In the ocular GVHD population, we also evaluated the associations between the NEI-VFQ-25 and the dry eye symptoms measured by the OSDI and SANDE questionnaires, age, duration of disease, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), corneal fluorescein staining (CFS), tear break-up time, and Schirmer test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean composite NEI-VFQ-25 score in patients with ocular GVHD was 76.5±17. Compared with healthy subjects, patients with ocular GVHD reported reduced scores on all NEI-VFQ-25 subscales (each P < 0.001) with the exception of color vision (P = 0.11). The NEI-VFQ-25 composite scores significantly correlated with OSDI (R = -0.81, P < 0.001), SANDE (R = -0.56, P < 0.001), CFS (R = -0.36, P = 0.001), and BCVA (R = -0.30, P = 0.004).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with ocular GVHD experience measurable impairment of vision-related QOL. This study highlights the impact of ocular GVHD on the vision-related QOL, and thus the importance of comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of this condition.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Ujwala S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Saboo
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amparo
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Tulio B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Abud
authors.affiliation: Moran Center for Translational Medicine, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Debra A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Schaumberg
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. Electronic address: reza_dana@meei.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dana
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D015590:Fluorophotometry; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013666:Tears / Q000737:chemistry; D014785:Vision, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult