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
. 2022 Dec 16;93(6):e2022299.
doi: 10.23750/abm.v93i6.13580.

Assessing the quality of life in age-related macular degeneration patients: a cross-sectional study in Kazakhstan

Inara Ismayilova  1 , Botagoz Turdaliyeva  2 , Neilya Aldasheva  3 , Natalia Veselovskaya  4
Affiliations

Assessing the quality of life in age-related macular degeneration patients: a cross-sectional study in Kazakhstan

Inara Ismayilova et al. Acta Biomed. .

Abstract

Aim: The goal of this study was to assess Vision-Related Quality of Life (VRQoL) in patients with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and identify its significant predictors.

Methods: 458 AMD patients from four eye clinics in three major cities of Kazakhstan were recruited for this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire on sociodemographic and visual information and the National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire-39 (NEI-VFQ-39).

Results: The study sample included 181 male patients who were 64.9 years on average (SD±8.4), and 277 female patients who were 68.7 years on average (SD±10.7). The majority of patients had stage 2 (43.7%) or stage 3 (40.2%) AMD according to the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) classification. The mean (SD) NEI-VFQ-39 total score was 58.0 (23.8), range (9.8 - 100). The multiple linear regression model showed that the VRQoL of AMD patients correlated with the AMD stage according to the AREDS classification, age of the patients, visual acuity, number of years since the AMD diagnosis, and the city of residence.

Conclusions: AMD causes severe vision impairment and daily functioning problems, reducing the quality of life of patients. To diagnose and treat degenerative eye disorders at an early stage, it is essential to inform patients about regular ophthalmological checkups to diagnose and treat degenerative eye disorders at an early stage.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05427994.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Each author declares that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g. consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangement etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
NEI-VFQ-39 total score and subscale scores by AMD stage. Abbreviations: AMD - Age-Related Macular Degeneration; AREDS - Age-Related Eye Disease Study; NEI-VFQ-39 - National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire-39; VRQoL – vision related quality of life VS – Vision specific;
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
NEI-VFQ-39 total score and subscale scores by age groups adjusted by AMD stage. Abbreviations: AMD - Age-Related Macular Degeneration; AREDS - Age-Related Eye Disease Study; NEI-VFQ-39 - National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire-39; VRQoL – vision related quality of life; VS – Vision specific; y.o. – years old.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
NEI-VFQ-39 total score and subscale scores by the city of residence adjusted by visual acuity. Abbreviations: AMD - Age-Related Macular Degeneration; NEI-VFQ-39 - National Eye Institute-Visual Function Questionnaire-39; VRQoL – vision related quality of life; VS – Vision specific.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Wong WL, Su X, Li X, et al. Global prevalence of age-related macular degeneration and disease burden projection for 2020 and 2040: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Glob Heal. 2014;2:e106–16. - PubMed
    1. Mauschitz MM, Finger RP. Age-related macular degeneration and cardiovascular diseases: revisiting the common soil theory. Asia-Pacific J Ophthalmol. 2022;11:94–9. - PubMed
    1. (UNPF) UNPF in K. Population Situation Analysis in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Nur-Sultan. 2016 Available from: https://kazakhstan.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/UNFPA_FullRepor... .
    1. Sarkar A, Sodha SJ, Junnuthula V, Kolimi P, Dyawanapelly S. Novel and investigational therapies for wet and dry age-related macular degeneration. Drug Discov Today. 2022;8:2322–32. - PubMed
    1. Papalamprou M, Georgakopoulos CD, Pharmakakis N. Quality of life: Investigating the impact of two major mental disorders, anxiety and depression, in patients with age-related macular degeneration. Br J Vis Impair. 2022;40:301–15.

Associated data