Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2004 Sep 1:2:44.
doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-2-44.

Comparison of the NEI-VFQ and OSDI questionnaires in patients with Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye

Susan Vitale  1 , Linda A Goodman, George F Reed, Janine A Smith
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of the NEI-VFQ and OSDI questionnaires in patients with Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye

Susan Vitale et al. Health Qual Life Outcomes. .

Abstract

Background: To examine the associations between vision-targeted health-related quality of life (VT-HRQ) and ocular surface parameters in patients with Sjögren's syndrome, a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by dry eye and dry mouth.

Methods: Forty-two patients fulfilling European / American diagnostic criteria for Sjögren's syndrome underwent Schirmer testing without anesthesia, ocular surface vital dye staining; and measurement of tear film breakup time (TBUT). Subjects were administered the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and the 25-item National Eye Institute Vision Functioning Questionnaire (NEI-VFQ). Main outcome measures included ocular surface parameters, OSDI subscales describing ocular discomfort (OSDI-symptoms), vision-related function (OSDI-function), and environmental triggers, and NEI-VFQ subscales.

Results: Participants (aged 31-81 y; 95% female) all had moderate to severe dry eye. Associations of OSDI subscales with the ocular parameters were modest (Spearman r (rho) < 0.22) and not statistically significant. Associations of NEI-VFQ subscales with the ocular parameters reached borderline significance for the near vision subscale with TBUT (rho = 0.32, p =.05) and for the distance vision subscale with van Bijsterveld score (rho = 0.33, p =.04). The strongest associations of the two questionnaires were for: ocular pain and mental function with OSDI-symptoms (rho = 0.60 and 0.45, respectively); and general vision, ocular pain, mental function, role function, and driving with OSDI-function (rho = 0.60, 0.50, 0.61, 0.64, 0.57, and 0.67, respectively).

Conclusions: Associations between conventional objective measures of dry eye and VT-HRQ were modest. The generic NEI-VFQ was similar to the disease-specific OSDI in its ability to measure the impact of Sjögren's syndrome-related dry eye on VT-HRQ.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Association between OSDI (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ overall scales. Spearman ρ: 0.61*.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Association between OSDI ocular discomfort subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ ocular pain subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.60*
Figure 3
Figure 3
Association between OSDI environmental triggers subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ ocular pain subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.46.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Association between OSDI visual function subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ general vision subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.61.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Association between OSDI visual function subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ driving subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.57.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Association between OSDI visual function subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ near vision subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.46.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Association between OSDI visual function subscale (scores subtracted from 100) and NEI-VFQ distance vision subscale. Spearman ρ: 0.45.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Brewitt H, Sistani F. Dry eye disease: the scale of the problem. Surv Ophthalmol. 2001;45:S199–S202. doi: 10.1016/S0039-6257(00)00202-2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Schein OD, Munoz B, Tielsch JM, Bandeen-Roche K, West S. Prevalence of dry eye among the elderly. Am J Ophthalmol. 1997;124:723–728. - PubMed
    1. McCarty CA, Bansal AK, Livingston PM, Stanislavsky YL, Taylor HR. The epidemiology of dry eye in Melbourne, Australia. Ophthalmology. 1998;105:1114–1119. doi: 10.1016/S0161-6420(98)96016-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moss SE, Klein R, Klein BE. Prevalence of and risk factors for dry eye syndrome. Arch Ophthalmol. 2000;118:1264–1268. - PubMed
    1. Chia EM, Mitchell P, Rochtchina E, Lee AJ, Maroun R, Wang JJ. Prevalence and associations of dry eye syndrome in an older population: the Blue Mountains Eye Study. Clin Experimental Ophthalmol. 2003;31:229–232. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9071.2003.00634.x. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types