Assessment of quality of life in patients with visual impairments using a new visual function questionnaire: the VFQ-J11

Figures & data

Table 1 Patient demographics (n=232)

	Mean ± SD, n, or n (%)	Range or n
Sex (% male)	123 (54.9%)
Age (years)	69.6±14.3	20–93
Better eye BCVA	Decimal: 0.34	Decimal: NLP–1.5
	logMAR: 0.48±0.64	logMAR: −0.18–3.30
Worse eye BCVA	Decimal: 0.03	Decimal: NLP–1.2
	logMAR: 1.58±1.04	logMAR: −0.08–3.30
Causative disease
	ARMD	53
	Diabetic retinopathy	34
	Glaucoma	33
	Corneal disease	21
	Retinitis pigmentosa	14
	Degenerative myopia	11
	Amblyopia	7
	Lens disease	7
	Optic disc atrophy	5
	Others	47

Abbreviations: ARMD, age-related macular degeneration; BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; logMAR, logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution; NLP, no light perception; SD, standard deviation.

Table 2 Summary of quality of life scores

Scores	Mean ± SD	Median (IQR)	Observed range	Possible range
VFQ-J11	49.0±24.8	49.3 (26.9–69.1)	2.3–100	0–100
VFQ-25	51.8±23.8	53.5 (33.4–71.1)	0–95.2	0–100
EQ-5D	0.74±0.19	0.73 (0.61–1.00)	−0.014–1.00	−0.6–1.0

Note: Higher values indicate better health for the VFQ-25.

Abbreviations: EQ-5D, EuroQoL Index; IQR, interquartile range; SD, standard deviation; VFQ-J11, Japanese 11-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire; VFQ-25, 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.

Table 3 Associations between quality of life parameters and various demographic factors

Parameters	VFQ-25 composite score		VFQ-J11 score		EQ-5D score
	Slope (95% CI)	P-value	Slope (95% CI)	P-value	Slope (95% CI)	P-value
Age	−0.12 (−0.34, 0.10)	0.27	−0.17 (−0.40, 0.06)	0.15	0.000 (−0.002, 0.001)	0.77
Sex	−5.6 (−11.8, 0.59)	0.08	−3.84 (−10.4, 2.79)	0.26	0.028 (−0.022, 0.077)	0.27
Visual acuity
Better-eye BCVA (logMAR)	−20.3 (−24.4, −16.2)	<0.01	−25.9 (−29.7, −22.1)	<0.01	−0.108 (−0.144, −0.073)	<0.001
Worse-eye BCVA (logMAR)	−6.95 (−9.80, −4.11)	<0.01	−6.06 (−9.13, −2.99)	<0.01	−0.018 (−0.041, 0.005)	0.12
Systemic comorbidities
Hypertension	−6.64 (−13.1, −0.22)	0.04	−6.69 (−13.6, −0.17)	0.04	−0.037 (−0.087, 0.014)	0.16
Angina	5.79 (−7.58, 19.2)	0.39	4.36 (−9.60, 18.3)	0.54	0.026 (−0.079, 0.13)	0.62
Diabetes mellitus	−7.12 (−13.9, −0.38)	0.04	−7.86 (−14.9, −0.74)	0.03	−0.036 (−0.089, 0.017)	0.18
Cancer	4.90 (−13.1, 22.9)	0.59	2.62 (−16.1, 21.4)	0.78	−0.10 (−0.24, 0.038)	0.15
Kidney disorder	−9.07 (−23.5, 5.38)	0.22	−7.49 (−23.3, 8.30)	0.35	−0.048 (−0.16, 0.066)	0.41
Digestive disorder	−28.8 (−52.1, −5.43)	0.02	−31.2 (−59.3, −3.14)	0.03	−0.087 (−0.27, 0.010)	0.36
Respiratory disorder	−11.9 (−39.1, 15.3)	0.39	−13.9 (−42.3, 14.3)	0.33	−0.094 (−0.31, 0.12)	0.38
Neurological disorder	−52.1 (−98.6, −5.65)	0.03	−51.1 (−99.6, 2.57)	0.04	0.11 (−0.15, 0.36)	0.42
Stroke	−4.21 (−22.2, 13.8)	0.65	0.62 (−19.6, 20.8)	0.95	−0.021 (−0.16, 0.12)	0.77
Hearing loss	−27.3 (−48.2, −6.41)	0.01	−26.1 (−50.5, −1.67)	0.04	−0.163 (−0.33, 0.002)	0.053

Abbreviations: BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; CI, confidence interval; EQ-5D, EuroQoL Index; logMAR, logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution; VFQ-25, 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire; VFQ-J11, Japanese 11-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.

Table 4 Quality of life parameters based upon the BCVA of the better/worse eye

Number of subjects		Worse eye BCVA
		≤0.3	0.4–0.6	0.7≤
Better eye BCVA (decimal)	≤0.3	88
	0.4–0.6	40	6
	0.6<	75	15	8
VFQ-25 composite score		Worse eye BCV	A
		≤0.3	0.4–0.6	0.7≤
Better eye BCVA (decimal)	≤0.3	36.3±18.5
	0.4–0.6	48.4±22.1	55.4±13.1
	0.6<	66.4±20.5	68.2±15.1	70.5±18.0
VFQ-J11 score		Worse eye BCV	A
		≤0.3	0.4–0.6	0.7≤
Better eye BCVA (decimal)	≤0.3	28.7±18.3
	0.4–0.6	47.7±19.6	51.2±15.8
	0.6<	68.0±15.9	65.1±17.8	71.2±15.2
EQ-5D score		Worse eye BCV	A
		≤0.3	0.4–0.6	0.7≤
Better eye BCVA (decimal)	≤0.3	0.65±0.17
	0.4–0.6	0.73±0.17	0.67±0.11
	0.6<	0.82±0.18	0.82±0.15	0.88±0.14

Note: Data presented as number of subjects or mean ± standard deviation.

Abbreviations: BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; EQ-5D, EuroQoL Index; SD, standard deviation; VFQ-25, 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire; VFQ-J11, Japanese 11-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.

Table 5 QOL scores classified according to causative diseases

	BCVA		Corneal disease	Retinitis pigmentosa	Diabetic retinopathy	Glaucoma	Macular degeneration	Degenerative myopia
Number of subjects	Total BCVA group		21	14	34	33	53	11
		≤0.3	8	2	19	14	12	6
		0.4–0.6a	5	6	11	6	11	2
		0.6<	8	6	4	13	30	3
VFQ-J11 score (mean ± SD)	Total BCVA group		57.8±25.3	50.7±21.4	40.3±23.6	36.4±25.7	55.1±23.3	45.9±23.6
		≤0.3	40.0±23.9	32.8±9.6	31.7±22.2	16.9±16.7	23.2±11.8	28.1±11.9
		0.4–0.6a	57.8±26.2	40.7±19.7	44.6±18.0	40.4±21.4	53.4±18.7	56.6±8.0
		0.6<	72.9±17.5	66.7±15.1	69.2±20.6	57.4±18.1	69.0±13.0	74.4±10.5
VFQ-25 composite score (mean ± SD)	Total BCVA group		49.1±31.8	52.8±17.9	44.4±21.2	41.8±24.8	58.6±22.8	54.7±21.9
		≤0.3	35.4±29.3	40.3±18.6	37.0±20.2	27.7±17.2	34.9±12.3	38.7±13.7
		0.4–0.6a	46.0±32.9	45.7±14.9	48.9±17.0	39.1±24.8	54.5±24.9	64.9±6.1
		0.6<	64.6±30.4	64.2±16.3	67.2±20.3	58.2±23.1	69.7±17.1	80.1±8.4
EQ-5D score(mean ± SD)	Total BCVA group		0.71±0.18	0.74±0.18	0.66±0.15	0.71±0.18	0.81±0.18	0.76±0.17
		≤0.3	0.70±0.16	0.60±0.02	0.63±0.17	0.63±0.18	0.70±0.22	0.66±0.09
		0.4–0.6a	0.72±0.17	0.64±0.14	0.68±0.09	0.68±0.06	0.79±0.19	0.79±0.29
		0.6<	0.70±0.23	0.89±0.12	0.78±0.15	0.81±0.16	0.86±0.14	0.93±0.12

Notes: VA group classified using the better eye best-corrected visual acuity BCVA (decimal).

a Data shown as range.

Abbreviations: BCVA, best-corrected visual acuity; EQ-5D, EuroQoL Index; QOL, quality of life; VFQ-J11, Japanese 11-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire; VFQ-25, 25-item National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire.