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
. 2019 Mar;97(2):165-172.
doi: 10.1111/aos.13903. Epub 2018 Sep 11.

Quality of life and participation of young adults with a visual impairment aged 18-25 years: comparison with population norms

Ellen Bernadette Maria Elsman  1 , Gerardus Hermanus Maria Bartholomeus van Rens  1   2 , Ruth Marie Antoinette van Nispen  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Quality of life and participation of young adults with a visual impairment aged 18-25 years: comparison with population norms

Ellen Bernadette Maria Elsman et al. Acta Ophthalmol. 2019 Mar.

Abstract

Purpose: To compare health-related quality of life and participation of visually impaired young adults with normative groups, and to explore severity of vision loss and its association with participation and quality of life.

Methods: Young adults aged 18-25 years (n = 172) registered at two Dutch low vision rehabilitation organizations completed the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), Impact on Participation and Autonomy (IPA) and Low Vision Quality of Life questionnaire (LVQOL). EQ-5D and SF-36 scores were compared to age-specific norms. IPA scores were compared to norms of a population having three chronic diseases simultaneously. Linear regression was used to assess the association between severity of vision loss (mild VI, moderate VI and severe VI/blindness), and quality of life and participation.

Results: Participants scored significantly worse on almost all (sub)scales compared with relevant norms. Effect sizes for the EQ-5D and SF-36 (sub)scales were mostly small; moderate and large effect sizes were found for the IPA. Compared to young adults with mild VI, corrected models showed a significant association between having moderate VI and the physical component score of the SF-36, and between severe VI/blindness and the LVQOL.

Conclusion: VI has a moderate impact on some aspects of quality of life and a large impact on participation of young adults when compared with relevant normative populations. Severity of vision loss is associated with worse physical functioning and vision-related quality of life. The results contribute to a better understanding of the impact of VI and might lead to improved low vision services.

Keywords: participation; quality of life; visual impairment; young adults.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. van der Aa HP, van Rens GH, Comijs HC, Margrain TH, Gallindo‐Garre F, Twisk JW & van Nispen RM (2015): Stepped care for depression and anxiety in visually impaired older adults: multicentre randomised controlled trial. BMJ 351: h6127. - PMC - PubMed
    1. van der Aa HP, Xie J, Rees G, Fenwick E, Holloway EE, van Rens GH & van Nispen RM (2016): Validated prediction model of depression in visually impaired older adults. Ophthalmology 123: 1164–1166. - PubMed
    1. Aaronson NK, Muller M, Cohen PD et al. (1998): Translation, validation, and norming of the Dutch language version of the SF‐36 Health Survey in community and chronic disease populations. J Clin Epidemiol 51: 1055–1068. - PubMed
    1. Arnett JJ (2004): Emerging adulthood: the winding road from the late teens through the early twenties. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
    1. de Boer MR, Moll AC, de Vet HC, Terwee CB, Volker‐Dieben HJ & van Rens GH (2004): Psychometric properties of vision‐related quality of life questionnaires: a systematic review. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 24: 257–273. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources