Validation of the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) in age-related macular degeneration

Abstract

Purpose: Patient-reported measures of visual function are increasingly incorporated into clinical trials of new treatments for age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Limited information is available regarding the associations between distance visual acuity (VA), reading speed, or contrast sensitivity and the National Eye Institute Visual Function Questionnaire-25 (NEI VFQ-25) subscales judged relevant to these measures. This study's objective was to evaluate such associations along with questions on restricted activity days.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in patients with clinical diagnoses of neovascular AMD. Patient-reported outcome measures included the NEI VFQ-25 and restricted activity days. Clinical assessments included best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), reading speed, and contrast sensitivity. The better-seeing eye was defined based on the BCVA of each patient. Psychometric properties of the NEI VFQ-25 were examined; analyses a priori focused on the Near Activities, Distance Activities, and Vision-Specific Dependency subscales.

Results: The final study group included 92 participants (mean age, 78 years). Cronbach's α for the subscales ranged from 0.67 to 0.92. The NEI VFQ-25 overall composite, Near Activities, Distance Activities, and Vision-Specific Dependency scores were correlated with BCVA (r = -0.48 to -0.54, all P < 0.0001), reading speed (r = 0.43 to 0.56, all P < 0.0001), and contrast sensitivity (r = -0.39 to -0.46, all P < 0.001) of the better-seeing eye and with restricted activity days (r = -0.52 to -0.55, all P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence supporting the validity of the NEI VFQ-25 in neovascular AMD patients by demonstrating correlations with a spectrum of vision measurements and a daily function measure.