Quality of Life in Glaucoma: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

The ultimate goal of glaucoma management is the preservation of patients' visual function and quality of life (QoL). The disease itself as well as the medical or surgical treatment can have an enormous impact on a patient's QoL. Even the mere diagnosis of a chronic, irreversible, potentially blinding disorder can adversely affect the patient's sense of well-being and QoL by eliciting significant anxiety. Patients with primary open-angle glaucoma rarely present with visual symptoms, at least early in the course of the disease. A better understanding of patient-reported QoL can improve patient-physician interaction and enhance treatment adherence by customizing treatment options based on individual patient profile, thus optimizing long-term prognosis. These aspects are summarized and critically appraised in this article.

Keywords: Glaucoma; Ophthalmology; Quality of life; Quality of life assessment; Visual field loss.

Fig. 1

An example of a completed EQ-VAS thermometer-analogue scale

Fig. 2

Utility classified in five stages based on mean deviation in the worst eye (adapted from Kobelt et al. [33])

Fig. 3

Rates of fear of blindness over time in the Collaborative Initial Glaucoma Treatment Study (adapted from Janz et al. [48])