Evaluation of visual function and vision-related quality of life in patients with senile cataract

ABSTRACT Purpose: To investigate the correlation between quality of life and decreased visual acuity in elders with senile cataract. Methods: A transversal and quantitative study involving 53 elderly patients with senile cataracts and candidates for cataract surgery in a private ophthalmology clinic in Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. For sociodemographic investigation, a questionnaire elaborated by the authors was used. Research on visual-related quality of life was done through the National Eye Institute - Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (NEI-VFQ 25) questionnaire. For statistical analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and hypothesis testing were applied, in which the test statistic follows a Student's t distribution, with 5% significance level (p < 0,05). Results: The majority of the interviewed patients' ages were comprehended between 70 and 79 years old (n.29 / 54,7%) and were female (n.30 / 56,6%). The correlation between the mean score of the "Visual Capacity" domain and of the "Quality of Life" domain had Pearson's correlation coefficient equal to 0,664, statistically significant in Student's t-test (p < 0,001). Therefore, there are evidences that the quality of life and the visual function are correlated so that the better the visual capacity, the better the quality of life. Conclusion: The correlation between ocular health and functional capacity of the elderly can be obtained by the application the National Eye Institute - Visual Function Questionnaire 25 (NEI-VFQ 25), generating data that reveals the necessity of guaranteed access to ocular health by the elderly population.

摘要
研究目的：探究老年白内障患者的生活质量与视力下降之间的相关性。
研究方法：本研究为横断面定量研究，纳入巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州蒙蒂斯克拉鲁斯市一家私立眼科诊所的53名拟行白内障手术的老年白内障患者。社会人口学特征调查采用研究者自制问卷；视觉相关生活质量评估采用美国国家眼科研究所视力功能问卷25（National Eye Institute - Visual Function Questionnaire 25, NEI-VFQ 25）。统计分析采用皮尔逊相关系数（Pearson's correlation coefficient）与假设检验，检验统计量服从学生t分布（Student's t distribution），显著性水平设为5%（p<0.05）。
研究结果：受访患者中，年龄多集中于70~79岁区间（n=29，占比54.7%），女性占比更高（n=30，占比56.6%）。“视觉能力”维度与“生活质量”维度的平均得分间的皮尔逊相关系数为0.664，经学生t检验证实具有统计学意义（p<0.001）。由此可见，生活质量与视觉功能存在显著相关性，视觉能力越好，患者生活质量越高。
研究结论：借助美国国家眼科研究所视力功能问卷25（NEI-VFQ 25），可获取老年人群眼部健康与功能状态的相关数据，研究结果揭示了老年群体亟需获得有保障的眼部健康医疗服务的必要性。