Quality of life in patients with glaucoma using the Glaucoma Quality of Life-15 Questionnaire

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to measure the quality of life (QoL) in patients with glaucoma using the Glaucoma QoL-15 (GQL-15) questionnaire. Methods: A cross-sectional study with a prospective enrollment of glaucoma patients was conducted. A total of 308 patients were participated in the study. Informed consent was obtained before the administration of the GQL-15 questionnaire. The QoL was assessed using an orally administered GQL-15 questionnaire. Patients' QoL was assessed based on their age, gender, visual field (VF) defect, severity of glaucoma, laterality of disease, history of previous glaucoma surgery, and the number of antiglaucoma medications (AGMs) they were taking. Participants were divided into mild, moderate, and severe glaucoma depending on the severity of VF defects using the Hodapp–Anderson–Parrish grading system. Results: A total of 308 glaucoma patients were interviewed. The mean age of participants was 57.7 ± 12.9 years; 173 (56.1%) of them were female. The average mean deviation (MD) of the patients was 7.8 ± 4.8 dB. There were 135 (43.8%) patients with mild, 122 (39.6%) with moderate, and 51 (16.6%) with severe glaucoma. In total, 114 (37%) patients had unilateral glaucoma, whereas 138 (44.4%) patients had previous glaucoma surgery. Sixty-two (22.1%) patients did not take any AGM. The correlation coefficient between VF MD and QoL was 0.7, which was significant at 0.01 level (two-tailed). Conclusion: The findings of this study demonstrated that the severity of VF defects has a negative impact on patient's QoL.

Keywords

• glaucoma
• glaucomatous optic atrophy
• normal-tension glaucoma
• primary angle-closure glaucoma
• primary open-angle glaucoma
• quality of life
• secondary glaucoma