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Comparative Study
. 2013 Aug;22(6):1405-14.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-012-0270-z. Epub 2012 Sep 27.

Measuring the impact of cataract surgery on generic and vision-specific quality of life

Erik J Groessl  1 , Lin Liu, Marisa Sklar, Steven R Tally, Robert M Kaplan, Theodore G Ganiats
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Measuring the impact of cataract surgery on generic and vision-specific quality of life

Erik J Groessl et al. Qual Life Res. 2013 Aug.

Abstract

Purpose: Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness worldwide and cause visual impairment for millions of adults in the United States. We compared the sensitivity of a vision-specific health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measure to that of multiple generic measures of HRQOL before and at 2 time points after cataract surgery.

Methods: Participants completed 1 vision-specific and 5 generic quality of life measures before cataract surgery, and again 1 and 6 months after surgery. Random effects modeling was used to measure changes over the three assessment points.

Results: The NEI-VFQ25 total score and all 11 subscales showed significant improvements during the first interval (baseline and 1 month). During the second interval (1-6 months post-surgery), significant improvements were observed on the total score and 5 of 11 NEI-VFQ25 subscales. There were significant increases in HRQOL during the first interval on some preference-based generic HRQOL measures, though changes during the second interval were mostly non-significant. None of the SF-36v2™ or SF6D scales changed significantly between any of the assessment periods.

Conclusions: The NEI-VFQ25 was sensitive to changes in vision-specific domains of QOL. Some preference-based generic HRQOL measures were also sensitive to change and showed convergence with the NEI-VFQ25, but the effects were small. The SF-36v2™ and SF-6D did not change in a similar manner, possibly reflecting a lack of vision-related content. Studies seeking to document both the vision-specific and generic HRQOL improvements of cataract surgery should consider these results when selecting measures.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
VFQ Total Score and Subscale
Figure 2
Figure 2
SF–36 Summary Score and Subscale
Figure 3
Figure 3
Preference–based measures of HRQOL
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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