Vision-related quality of life in glaucoma and age-related macular degeneration patients from a middle-income country.

BACKGROUND: Vision-related quality of life (VRQoL)-vision's impact on one's social, emotional and economic well-being-has not been extensively studied in patients living in middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to compare the VRQoL among age-related macular degeneration (AMD), primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and normal subjects in Brazil. METHODS: This was a case-control, cross-sectional study. Patients with AMD or POAG and normal controls underwent a complete eye examination; all participants answered the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (VFQ-25). Each item was scored and an overall composite score was calculated and compared among groups with an analysis of variance test. RESULTS: The sample included 60 patients with AMD, 64 with POAG and 60 controls. All groups were matched for age, gender, ethnic distribution and comorbidities. The VFQ-25 total score was lower in both AMD (50.6±20.9) and POAG (61.8±20.4) as compared with controls (89.2±9.1, p<0.001); scores for AMD patients were lower than for POAG patients (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Brazilian patients with POAG, and especially AMD, presented significantly lower VRQoL scores, underscoring the need to improve the care of patients with visual impairment in Brazil.