Impact of glaucoma on quality of life and activities of daily living

Objective/Background This study was performed to assess the associations of glaucoma with health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and activities of daily living (ADL). Methods Using data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III in 2005, we analysed 9,047 participants (≥ 50 years old) and 3,518 participants (≥ 65 years old) to assess the associations of glaucoma with HRQOL and ADL, respectively. The diagnosis of glaucoma was based on questionnaires. HRQOL was evaluated by the EuroQol five-dimension descriptive system (EQ-5D) and the EuroQol visual analogue scale. The ADL was evaluated by the Korean-optimised ADL questionnaire. Logistic-regression analyses were used to assess the associations of glaucoma with HRQOL and ADL. Results The glaucoma patients showed lower HRQOL and ADL scores compared to the healthy participants. The glaucoma patients showed significantly higher prevalence of impaired health status in all dimensions of EQ-5D, as well as in the "bathing" dimension of ADL as compared with the healthy participants. Impaired HRQOL and ADL were significantly associated with the risk of glaucomatous status (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] of EQ-5D: 1.65 [1.33, 2.05], EuroQol visual analogue scale: 1.75 [1.43, 2.15], and ADL: 2.04 [1.12, 3.74]). Conclusion In line with previous studies conducted in other countries, Koreans with glaucoma had impaired HRQOL and ADL as compared with healthy Koreans.