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Quality of Life (QL) in Patients with Cataract the SF-36 and the VF-14 Test
1Reichelt J. A., 1Kovács N., 2Handschuh T., 2Siebmann J. U., 2Küchler T.,
1Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Klinik für Ophthalmologie (Kiel)
2Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel, Referenzzentrum Lebensqualität i. d. Onkologie (Kiel)
Background: Not only visual acuity but also quality of life (QL) is important to evaluate the effects of ocular diseases and the chosen therapeutic concept on the patient. In patients planned for cataract surgery of the first eye we evaluated general and visual QL. Afterwards, these two parameters were related to each other.
Methods: 101 cataract patients were questioned about their QL one day before surgery as well as 2 and 6 months after. To evaluate general QL we used the german version of the 36-item short-form survey (SF-36) and compared our data with the german reference. Visual QL was recorded with the visual function index (VF-14), having worked out a german version.
Results: 93 forms were returned before surgery, 76 forms 6 months later. Compared to the german reference population, our patients` general QL was lower before as well as after surgery. Visual QL resembled international references (Steinberg et al., 1994), but (concerning self-assessment) our patients were more satisfied with the visual outcome.
Conclusions: The lack of increasing QL in our patients after cataract surgery could be related to following hypotheses: 1. High self-reported levels of satisfaction are connected with low desire to change; 2. More general diseases compared to german reference reduce QL; 3. Second eye with cataract still limits QL; 4. Ophthalmological co-morbidity (additional non-cataract diseases of the eye) limits increase of QL after surgery.