Gender Differences in Visual Functioning Questionnaire Scores among Patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To examine gender differences in visual functioning using the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25 (VFQ-25) in a Colorado cohort of patients with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Methods

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using a registry of AMD patients who attended the Sue Anschutz-Rodgers Eye Center (2014 to 2019). Demographic, clinical, and image data were collected, and AMD was categorized as Early/Intermediate AMD, or unilateral/bilateral neovascular (NV) AMD, geographic atrophy (GA), or Both Advanced using the Beckman Classification. Each patient completed the VFQ-25, which evaluates visual functioning, generating a composite score and subscale scores for vision-specific activities. Univariate and multivariable general linear models were used to estimate the associations between gender and VFQ-25 scores with parameter estimates (PE) and standard errors (SE).

Results

Among 739 patients with AMD, 294 (39.8%), 115 (15.6%), 168 (22.7%), and 162 (21.9%) were diagnosed with Early/Intermediate AMD, GA, NV AMD, and Both Advanced, respectively. Adjusted for AMD classification, age and habitual visual acuity in the better-seeing and worse-seeing eyes, female gender was not significantly associated with lower composite VFQ-25 scores (PE (SE): −1.2 (0.9), p = .193), and was significantly associated with reportedly worse ocular pain and driving subscale scores (PE (SE): −4.6 (1.0), p < .0001 and −9.1 (2.1), p < .0001, respectively).

Conclusion

Gender plays a role in reported driving activities and ocular pain among patients with AMD. This may need to be accounted for in future research related to the use of VFQ-25 for AMD.

KEYWORDS:

• Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
• visual functioning
• gender
• NEI VFQ-25

Acknowledgment

The authors thank the University of Colorado Retina Research Group which includes the following list of contributors: Melanie Akau OD, Christopher, Karen L MD, Ruth T. Eshete MPH, C. Rob Graef OD, Anne M. Lynch MB, BCH, BAO, MSPH, Naresh Mandava MD, Niranjan Manoharan MD, Marc T. Mathias MD, Scott N. Oliver MD, Jeffery L. Olson MD, Alan G. Palestine MD, Jennifer L. Patnaik PhD, Jesse M. Smith MD, Brandie D. Wagner PhD.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health under grant number R01EY032456 (AML), a Research to Prevent Blindness challenge unrestricted grant to the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Colorado, and the Frederic C. Hamilton Macular Degeneration Center.