title: Visual disability and quality of life in glaucoma patients.
abstract: Glaucoma is an optic neuropathy that can result in progressive and irreversible vision loss, thereby affecting quality of life (QoL) of patients. Several studies have shown a strong correlation between visual field damage and visual disability in patients with glaucoma, even in the early stages of the disease. Visual impairment due to glaucoma affects normal daily activities required for independent living, such as driving, walking, and reading. There is no generally accepted instrument for assessing quality of life in glaucoma patients; different factors involved in visual disability from the disease are difficult to quantify and not easily standardized. This chapter summarizes recent works from clinical and epidemiological studies, which describe how glaucoma affects the performance of important vision-related activities and QoL.
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: massimo.cesareo@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesareo
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ciuffoletti
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ricci
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Missiroli
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Mario Alberto
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Giuliano
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaele
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mancino
authors.affiliation: Ophthalmology Unit, Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nucci
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000209:etiology*
keywords: Daily living activities; Disability; Glaucoma; Perimetry; Quality of life; Reading ability; Visual field