Quality of Life in Patients With Age-Related Macular Degeneration

The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life in persons affected by agerelated macular degeneration.
Material and Methods. The study was performed in the Clinic of Ophthalmology, Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. A total of 140 patients completed the Visual Functioning Questionnaire and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) during this prospective study. The patients were divided into two groups: patients with age-related macular degeneration (70 patients) and control patients (70 patients).
Results. There was a significant difference in the quality of life between groups (P<0.0001). Analyzing patients with age-related macular degeneration within the group (patients with monocular or binocular disorders), significant differences in near vision (P=0.003), far vision (P=0.04), color vision (P=0.01), and social functioning (P=0.02) were observed. Mental health (r=0.326, P=0.02), dependency (r=0.340, P=0.02), and role difficulties (r=0.355, P=0.01) were found to be significantly associated with general vision in the age-related macular degeneration group.
Conclusions. Age-related macular degeneration appeared to have a great impact on the quality of life. General vision impairment caused by age-related macular degeneration affects patient’s mental health, dependency, and role difficulties.