Different impact of early and late stages irreversible eye diseases on vision-specific quality of life domains

To determine the differential impact of the irreversible eye diseases on vision-related quality of life (VRQoL) in a multi-ethnic Asian population. 2652 participants from the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Disease Study, with any of the following early and late-stage eye conditions including age-related macular degeneration (AMD, n = 158), diabetic retinopathy (DR, n = 105; non vision threatening [non-VTDR]; VTDR), glaucoma (n = 57) and myopic macular degeneration (MMD, n = 106), or none of the above (controls, 2226 [83.9%]) were included. Rasch-scaled scores of the Emotional well-being Mobility and Reading subscales of the Impact of Vision Impairment (IVI) questionnaire, collectively referred to as “VRQoL” were assessed. Multivariable linear regression analyses and pairwise comparisons adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, socio-economic status, BMI, smoking, alcohol use, presence of systemic diseases and presenting VI were performed to assess and compare the impact of the presence and severity of each eye condition on the three IVI domains. Multivariable adjusted pairwise comparisons of VRQoL between early stages of the four eye diseases showed no significant differences (all P > 0.05). For late stage diseases, individuals with VTDR had significantly larger decrements in Emotional well-being compared to glaucoma (β − 0.81; 95% CI − 1.47 to − 0.16) and MMD (β − 1.17; 95% CI − 2.16 to − 0.18); and Reading decrements compared to glaucoma (β − 0.66; 95% CI − 1.22 to − 0.11). When compared to late glaucoma, individuals with late AMD (β − 0.76; 95% CI − 1.50 to − 0.01) had significantly larger IVI Mobility subscale decrements. VTDR and late AMD, appear to have the greatest impact on VRQoL, compared to late glaucoma and MMD, suggesting a differential impact of late-stage eye disease categorization on VRQoL.