Glaucoma Patient-Reported Concerns and Associated Factors.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the character and degree of concerns of glaucoma patients and identify demographic/clinical factors affecting the concerns.


METHODS
Prospective cross-sectional study.


METHODS
A questionnaire that addressed patients' concerns was administered to consecutive glaucoma patients. Severity of concern was scored with a scale of 0-5 in order of increasing severity. Age, sex, intraocular pressure, visual field (VF) mean deviation (MD), number of antiglaucoma medications, history of glaucoma surgery, and employment status were recorded.


RESULTS
Questionnaire results of 152 patients (mean VF MD, -8.03 ± 7.86 dB [better eye] and -16.06 ± 10.22 dB [worse eye]; mean age, 69 ± 14 years) were analyzed. Severity of concern was greatest for general eyesight (2.92/5.00) and visual symptoms (2.78/5.00), followed by activities (2.20/5.00) and socioeconomic factors (2.13/5.00), and then ocular symptoms (1.69/5.00) (P < .001). The most common concerns within each domain were blurry vision (32%), reading small print (34%), medical costs (26%), and dryness (32%). Concern about visual symptoms correlated with VF MD of the better eye (r = -0.258; P = .001) and worse eye (r = -0.233; P = .004). Concern about activities correlated with history of glaucoma surgery (r = 0.148; P = .023) and VF MD of the better eye (r = -0.284; P < .001) and worse eye (r = -0.295; P < .001). Concern about socioeconomic factors correlated with VF MD of the better eye (r = -0.245; P = .003) and age (r = -0.260; P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Glaucoma patients reported varied degrees of concern regarding items associated with quality of life. Certain items may be more concerning than others. Severity of some concerns increased with more severe VF loss, prior glaucoma surgery, or younger age.
Department of Ophthalmology, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, New York.
Rachel S
RS
Mogil
Department of Ophthalmology, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, New York.
Andrew
A
Tirsi
Department of Ophthalmology, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, New York.
Jung Min
JM
Lee
Department of Ophthalmology, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, New York; Department of Ophthalmology, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead, New York.
Celso
C
Tello
Department of Ophthalmology, Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital, New York, New York; Department of Ophthalmology, Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine, Hempstead, New York. Electronic address: sungchulpark1225@gmail.com.
Sung Chul
SC
Park
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014792:Visual Acuity; D014794:Visual Fields; D055815:Young Adult