| Summary: | Purpose : The aim of this study was to compare visual ability, depression and anxiety symptoms levels in people with and without low vision that have been diagnosed with comparable eye diseases. The diseases were age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR) Methods : Twenty subjects recruited in a department of Ophthalmology (HSMM, Portugal). participated in this study: 10 with low vision (LVg) and 10 controls (Cg). Controls were subjects with preserved acuity but with a diagnosis of eye disease similar with the low vision group. Visual tests were performed and questionnaires administered during face-to-face interviews conducted by a trained researcher. Acuity was measured with ETDRS charts, critical print size with the MNREAD test. Visual ability was accessed with the Activity Inventory and quality of life with the EQ5D-5L. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results : Visual acuity (logMAR, mean±se) in the better eye was 0.69±0.06 (LVg) and 0.071±0.05 (Cg). Age in years was 69±4 in the LVg and 65±4 in the Cg. In both groups, 30% of the participants were diagnosed with AMD and the remainder with DR. The number of comorbidities (median±iqr) 2.5±4 in the LVg and 2.00±2 in the Cg. Critical prints size measured in logMAR was 0.95±0.05 in the LVg and 0.45±.03 in the Cg (t-test(18)=8.45,p<0.001). Visual ability, (person measure, higher scores indicate less dificulties), in logits, was 0.55±0.36 in the LVg and 4.29±0.52 in the Cg (t-test(18)=-5.94,p<0.001). The EQ5D-5L index was 0.65±.28 in the LVg and 0.91±.14 in the Cg (t-test(18)=-2.59,p=0.018.). The anxiety score was 5.80±1.96 in the LVg and 4.50±1.07 in the Cg(p>0.05). The depression score was 7.00±1.81 in the LVg and 3.70±0.90 in the Cg (p>0.05). Conclusions : Our results indicate a significant reduction in visual ability and in the quality of life in individuals with low vision when compared with controls with similar eye diseases. Our results also show that depression and anxiety are present in both groups. These results have implications for designing low vision interventions.
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