Contrast sensitivity in glaucoma patients with visual field defects at different locations

Contrast sensitivity (CS) is closely associated with vision-related quality of life in glaucoma patients. This cross-sectional study was performed to determine the relationship between CS and visual field (VF) sensitivity (VFS) according to the hemifield location of VF defects in 238 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) who underwent 24-2 standard automated perimetry and CS measurement on the same day. Of the 238 eyes, 83, 58, and 47 eyes had VF defects in the superior, inferior and both hemifields, respectively, and 50 had no VF defects in either hemifield. Significant correlations between CS and VFS in all sectors were observed in the entire cohort (R(2) = 0.103–0.315, all P < 0.001). However, CS poorly represented VF defects in eyes with single superior (R(2) = 0.037–0.086) or inferior (R(2) = 0.107–0.222) hemifield defects. Eyes with bi-hemifield VF defects showed significant correlations between VFS and CS at 0.3 m in all sectors (R(2) = 0.200–0.406), but the correlation between VFS and CS at 5 m was significant only in the inferior sector (R(2) = 0.224–0.348 vs. 0.081–0.126 in the inferior and superior sectors, respectively). Correlations between CS and VFS were dependent on CS distances and the presence of bi-hemifield VF defects. Although CS may not correlate with VFS in eyes with single-hemifield VF defects, it may reflect visual disability in eyes with bi-hemifield defects.